New evidence emerges in the death of Nobel laureate Albert Luthuli

INKOSI Albert Luthuli sustained injuries that may have led to his death when three white men, who are believed to be steam goods train crew members, assaulted him, the inquest held at the Pietermaritzburg High Court heard this week.

- BONGANI HANS

An eyewitness to the incident was allegedly taken away by police a few days after the incident to an unidentified police station to state what he saw, but he disappeared and his family never saw him again.

This was the testimony of pensioner Isaiah Mdletshe, 70, who currently lives in Ntuzuma, north of Durban.

The initial inquest held in September 1967 concluded that Luthuli died at the Stanger Provincial Hospital after being hit by a steam goods train; no one was held accountable and it was treated as an accident.

It was said in the original inquest that Luthuli walked on the Mvoti River railway bridge and was hit by the oncoming train, which was moving at a speed of 40 km/h.