Apartheid govt was seeking ways to silence Luthuli & ANC, says Jeff Radebe

JOHANNESBURG - African National Congress (ANC) veteran Jeff Radebe has taken the witness stand at the reopened inquest into Chief Albert Luthuli's death, as the ANC attempts to set the record straight about what really happened to its leader.

Last week, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg heard testimony from Luthuli's family and Hawks detectives.

Luthuli died in 1967, with the inquest at the time ruling his death as accidental, saying he was hit by a steam train.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is disputing this and is seeking to have the initial findings of the inquest overturned.

When the first inquest into Luthuli's death was held in 1967, the ANC was a banned organisation, meaning that no one from the party was able to testify and challenge the apartheid government's version of events.

Almost six decades later, the ANC has received its opportunity.

Radebe, told the court that Luthuli played a pivotal role in the armed resistance against apartheid.

Radebe said that South Africa's government at the time was seeking ways to quiet him and the movement.

The inquest continues.