Albert Luthuli inquest: State to call on expert medical witnesses
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg has been hearing the reopened inquest into Luthuli’s death.
JOHANNESBURG - As the inquest into the death of struggle hero, Chief Albert Luthuli, enters its third week, the State will be calling on expert witnesses.
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg has been hearing the reopened inquest into Luthuli’s death.
Luthuli died in 1967, with the original inquest at the time ruling his death as accidental, saying he was hit by a train.
READ: Wilhemina Luthuli says her father-in-law, Albert Luthuli, was not frail when he died
However, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is seeking to overturn that.
For the past two weeks, the witnesses who have testified at the inquest were people who either knew Chief Albert Luthuli personally or had extensive knowledge of his work.
For people who knew Luthuli personally, they testified that it's unlikely that he was not of sound mind and health prior to his death.
They all said that it's unlikely that he would not have heard or felt the tremors of a loud steam train coming towards him.
Meanwhile, the African National Congress (ANC), researchers of Luthuli’s life, told the inquest that the apartheid government felt threatened by his growing influence both locally and internationally.
The inquest resumes next week Monday, with the State expected to present an expert medical witness.