Luthuli was killed by apartheid govt because ANC was rising to power
An inquest into the death of ANC president-general chief Albert Luthuli in the Pietermaritzburg high court was told on Tuesday the leader was killed by the apartheid regime because he was regarded as a threat.
KZN ANC convener Jeff Radebe who took the witness stand said the murder took place because under Luthuli's leadership the ANC had started to become more militant against the apartheid government.
Radede said under his leadership the ANC's military wing uMkhonto we Sizwe and ANCYL were formed.
He said the blueprint of the Freedom Charter was adopted in Kliptown in 1955 while Luthuli was at the helm of the ANC.
'During Luthuli's leadership the defiance campaigns were intensified and as a result the apartheid government regarded our president-general as a danger, so he had to be killed,' said Radebe.
He said despite various banning orders against him including house arrest, Luthuli was able to hold secrets meetings plotting against the apartheid government.
Prosecutor advocate Ncedile Dunywa put it to Radebe his evidence on Luthuli's militancy was in contrast to the picture created of a man of God who loved peace.
Radebe conceded Luthuli was a man of peace but said his attitude changed because of the approach of the apartheid government.
He said their tactics forced cadres to have two options — to submit or fight against the oppressive regime.
'Cadres like Luthuli chose to fight instead of submitting,' said Radebe.
He said his influence also got international recognition, resulting in him being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway in 1961.
'Fellow Nobel Peace Prize recipient Martin Luther King jnr who spoke highly about, and held Luthuli in high regard, was also eventually killed,' said Radebe.
He said the former US president John F. Kennedy who visited Luthuli in Groutville was also assassinated, adding that many people who associated themselves with the ANC leader were killed or imprisoned.
He said because of his influence the apartheid government had no choice but to kill him and cover up his cold-blooded murder as an accident.
'As the ANC we never believed the lies [that] Luthuli was hit by a goods train, and that is why we are here today,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
2 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Helen Zille eyes Joburg mayorship after DA's top picks decline post
Zille told Daily Maverick that she would decide whether to apply to run for Johannesburg mayor by next week, as candidates who want to be considered have an application deadline of 15 June. DA federal chair Helen Zille is seriously considering a dramatic return to frontline politics as Johannesburg mayor. This comes after three high-profile candidates, most from business, turned down the party's approach to throw their hats into the ring to lead the party's Johannesburg campaign. The job was too hard-charging and the pay too low – mayors earn about R1.5-million a year. The local government election will happen in either late 2026 or early 2027. Zille told Daily Maverick that she would decide whether to apply by next week, as candidates who want to be considered have an application deadline of 15 June. 'My whole family is in Cape Town,' she said, adding that her greatest joy now is seeing her grandchildren regularly and that they had a weekly adventure date. 'My husband (retired sociologist Professor Johann Maree) has always been unbelievably supportive. He supports what I decide, but won't come (to Johannesburg).' She said Maree, now 82, was happily settled in their retirement village and that if she decided to run and were successful, they would remain in touch daily. Her sons Paul and Thomas live nearby. 'My family says it's my decision.' A close associate said Zille had been troubled by the state of Johannesburg since about 2019, when she realised that most traffic lights did not work. Since last year's election, she has spent much time in Gauteng planning the party's local government campaign here and had a front-row seat to what distresses the City of Gold and its six million people. Her sister lives in Emmarentia, an old near-northern suburb often with no water or electricity due to the city's regular outages. She said that should she run, she would live with her sister in her cottage. A mayoral candidate must be a resident of the city. Several DA councillors plan to contest the party primary. They must submit a formal application, undergo a screening test and prepare a presentation on their plan for the city. This presentation is made to a group of 15 party leaders, five each from the Johannesburg, provincial, and federal executives. They are also asked unscripted questions. Asked if a race would be moot should she decide to run, Zille said, ' Not at all.' She said formidable candidates were running. A senior official who spoke off the record said Johannesburg is 'so far gone' that the party felt it needed a high-velocity candidate, as the DA has a strong chance of winning the city. An ANC-led coalition holds a slim majority in the city with the EFF, Patriotic Alliance and Action SA. Johannesburg has been under soft intervention by the Presidency since March. Its collapse has become visceral with multiday power and water outages so regular they barely make the news. Thousands of traffic lights are out at any time and potholes are so large they have become dongas and memes. Zille previously told Daily Maverick that it would take about five years to turn the city around, but she says that was an undercount. 'It will take more than five years (now) to stop the rot and turn the tide.' She noted Johannesburg had an infrastructure backlog of R200-billion and an annual budget of R86-billion. She said the city's staff complement had grown by 86% since 2010. Asked what Zille had going for her for the task, the official said she had turned Cape Town around as urban blight slowly settled in around 2006, when she became that city's mayor. Recently, she headed the party's governance unit, which worked with councillors and representatives when they entered government. Mostly, he said, whether they liked her or not, Zille enjoyed trust in her ability to govern. This graphic shows the job description that the DA set for candidates. DM Slice of political life (part satire) The Zillenator – the coalition queen sets her sights on Joburg – here's what to expect By Marianne Thamm (Trigger warning: dead sheep and stunned mice) News that former Cape Town Metro executive mayor, Democratic Alliance leader and the party's current Fedex chair since 2019, Helen Zille, is about to 'throw her hat in the ring' to lead Joburg comes as no surprise. The Afrikaans Sunday platform, Rapport, let the Zille out of the bag at the weekend, breaking the news that the veteran politician had been 'approached to run'. It was Zille in the mid-2000s who held together a fragile and fractious six-party coalition of minor parties as executive mayor of Cape Town while her government faced a hostile ANC which, in opposition, unleashed death by legal challenge. With a background in provincial and national legislatures, Zille also came with made-in-Germany batteries that seemed to be self-charging, as she warded off each challenge, going on to win award after award. Soon she was Queen of the Western Cape, like it or not. Dragging and roasting Anyone who is hoping to run against Zille, in this, the next hill in the comrades marathon that has been her political career, must arm themselves with her tactics and novel approach to bouncing back. This includes the recent Showmax special, Calamitous Caucus of Clowns – The Roast of Helen Zille, during which everyone on stage appeared to be straightjacketed by a script which sucked all spontaneity out of the room. But worth a watch, anyhow. Earlier in the year, Zille made an appearance as Zille Von Teez in full drag on the Tollie en Manila Show, also on Showmax. Zille might and could very well just stay in drag and go out and campaign… she's that good, say those in the know. Zille on the campaign trail, even in her sixties and now at 74, knows exactly what works for which constituency, including which soundtrack to play while choreographing her own dance moves. Zille can probably do a Zulu warrior kick while posting on social media and reach higher than PJ Powers. The three previous occasions that Zille offered to 'throw her hat in the ring', she won. First to lead the Cape Metro (2006-2009) as executive mayor, then the DA itself (2007-2015) while simultaneously being elected as premier of the Western Cape (2009-2019). This is an indication of Zille's unwaning political stamina and clout, whatever your views of her ways und means. They're eating the sheep In 2016, Zille published her autobiography, Not Without A Fight (say it out loud in your head in her voice), weighing in at a hefty 700 or so pages. There she documents her impressive, life-long activism in townships in and around Cape Town, where she has survived being shot at, shouted at, being arrested… the usual. Seen it all. At about this time, Zille writes: 'I should stress that my constituency work involved much more than regular visits to police stations and courts (and dodging the occasional bullet)'. She recalls that 'I was also called on to provide ambulance services from time to time, sometimes in the dead of night. At times, I transported some interesting passengers… 'Every time we had a branch launch, we would buy a live sheep, which I would fetch in my car. 'The animal would sit meekly in the back, looking out of the window as if it was enjoying the view. It gave me an insight into the English idiom that compares a calm, unwitting walk into disaster with 'a lamb being led to the slaughter'.' Zille says that during the drive, she would bond with each sheep and 'felt deeply guilty every time I dropped it off at the party venue'. Say what? You didn't stay for the tjoppies? The mouse and other tails For some time now, I have been wandering on and off stages across the country, in restaurants, bars and festivals with a piece of 'performance journalism' titled, Round of Applause – South Africa Still Standing. I have turned into a bit of roving, three-dimensional, human newspaper, a town crier of sorts, celebrating SA's victory over State Capture and the role of the media, judiciary, whistle-blowers and others while catching up with the latest news. Zille has, since 2023, when I first followed this calling, grown into a fulcrum around which some of the funniest moments of the show revolve. One of the other centrepieces (and this is a retelling audiences have demanded not be shelved, as of yet) is an incident with a mouse that I witnessed with my own Putin-blue eyes while Zille was touring Julius Malema's hood, Seshego, in Limpopo in 2011. I will not let the mouse out of the bellbottom here (so to speak), but let's just say the incident is indicative of the stamina and discipline of Helen Zille when she is on a mission. The Government of National Unity was pulled together during a 10-minute comfort break, requested by Floyd Shivambu (still then dressed in red) while new MPs were being sworn in after the 2024 elections, enabling Zille and the ANC (and others) to sign a Memorandum of Agreement that had been left hanging. And voila, we have our Republiek van Alle Kante with Baie Kante in Die Parliament. Since the rugby incident, I take it no translation is required. Of the future political horizon in Joburg, where Zille has set her sights, all we can say is beware of the politician in drag who comes bearing sheep. DM
The South African
6 hours ago
- The South African
Luxury travel buddy: Who is Paul Mashatile's wife?
Paul Mashatile has been condemned by parliament for spending millions on luxury travel alongside his wife, Humile. The deputy president and the Second Lady – who have a 24-year age gap – wed in 2023 after both their partners died in 2020. Over the past few days, Deputy President Paul Mashatile has been grilled over his five-star luxury travel he made with his wife Humile on unofficial trips, at the expense of the taxpayer. In a recent parliament sitting, it was revealed that Paul spent over R2 million on a six-night stay in London last year. Earlier this year, he travelled to Japan, where he splurged almost R1 million on a four-night stay with his wife. Since being sworn in last July, Paul has spent almost R8 million on four international trips. Paul Mashatile's younger, attractive wife is no stranger to the spotlight. Humile was first married to former ANC Western Cape secretary Songezo Mjongile, who died in 2020 after a battle with colon cancer. At the time, Paul was the treasurer of the ANC. Paul's first wife, Manzi Ellen Mashatile, died in July 2020 after contracting COVID-19. Paul has four children with his late wife, while Humile has two from her marriage to Songezo. The couple's nuptials occurred just days after Paul was sworn in as SA's new deputy president. Paul Mashatile and his wife Humile Mjongile. Images via X: @pmashatile/ RODGER BOSCH, AFP According to her Instagram account, the second lady is a philanthropist who recently launched her own charity, the Humile Mashatile Foundation. Her areas of interest are autism, HIV/ Aids treatment in young children, and holistic healing. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
Mail & Guardian
9 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
MK party's power problem: The fragility of proximity politics
Former South African President Jacob Zuma speaks during a media briefing for his party uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), on June 16, 2024, at Capital Hotel in Sandton, outside Johannesburg. (Photo by Per-) Floyd Shivambu's redeployment from the position of secretary general of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party to a seat in parliament is not simply a procedural shift. It is a symbolic moment that pulls back the curtain on the inner workings of a party still constructing its identity — and, more crucially, its power logic. What this moment makes increasingly difficult to ignore is that the party's internal architecture does not yet rest on collective governance or principled leadership. It rests, quite plainly, on proximity. Proximity to the president general. Proximity to Jacob Zuma. Whether framed as discipline or realignment, Shivambu's redeployment — following a controversial trip to visit the self-proclaimed prophet, Shepherd Bushiri, who fled to his home country while out on bail for charges including fraud and rape — confirms a pattern we've seen brewing. In the MK party, political power is often determined not by mandate or merit, but by access. It is not a political machine with autonomous moving parts, but a gravitational field orbiting one figure. And this is not said to villainise the party. If anything, it emerged precisely because its founders felt other formations had drifted too far from accountability, too far from the masses, too far from the revolutionary ethics they once claimed to embody. The MK party was meant to offer something different. Perhaps even something radical. But this is where it gets complicated. If difference is defined by unwavering loyalty to one individual — regardless of title or structure — then how different is it really? Shivambu's reassignment, reportedly justified by a clause in the party's constitution prohibiting international engagements that conflict with the party line, might appear procedurally sound. However, political observers can't help but note the speed and decisiveness with which this rule was invoked — and for this individual. It's not the rule itself that tells the story. It's when and for whom the rule is enforced. We are seeing a party where key positions — secretary general, spokesperson, even senior deployees — do not enjoy stable mandates. They exist at the mercy of internal currents, shifting alliances and, perhaps most significantly, Zuma's confidence. Today you are central. Tomorrow, the centre moves without you. And this is precisely the problem with proximity politics: it is inherently fragile. When power flows through informal networks and personal bonds, it becomes difficult to institutionalise accountability, manage internal dissent and ensure consistent policy direction. You can be right and still be removed. You can be effective and still be sidelined. Because the metric is not effectiveness — it's alignment. This is why Shivambu's removal matters beyond his person. It points to a deeper reality in the MK party — that its centre of gravity is not ideological coherence or organisational structure. It is one man. And that has consequences. This is not a judgment about Zuma as an individual. It is a political concern about what happens when the centre cannot hold. The MK party's biggest challenge is not winning court cases or keeping its logo. It's this: how does a party that centralises so much power in one figure imagine itself beyond that figure? Because proximity works — for a while. It works when the central figure is present, powerful, active. But what happens when the centre can no longer hold? When the ear you once spoke into is no longer there? Zuma is not a young man, and history is filled with movements that could not survive their founders. If the MK party is to truly become the political home for a return to revolutionary ethics, then it must ask itself: can it build a structure that outlives proximity? That is the real revolutionary task. Not merely to rally around the centre but to prepare for its eventual absence. Thando Mzimela-Ntuli is the president of the National Executive Economic Collective.
