Daughter Of Luthulis Shop Worker Recounts Harassment At Inquest

The daughter of a man who used to work at the shop of the former ANC president, Chief Albert Luthuli, has told the Pietermaritzburg High Court that her family used to be harassed by Apartheid-era police due to their close ties with Luthuli.

Nozizwe KaMabaso-Mhlongo is testifying before the re-opened inquest into Luthulis death .

The family wants the court to overturn findings of the initial inquest that ruled Luthulis death an accident.

Luthuli died in 1967, allegedly after being struck by a goods train in Groutville, KwaZulu-Natal.

It was not uncommon to find members of the special branch roaming around our area. In fact, often the doors will be kicked down in the middle of the night, and policeman both black and white would assault the occupants viciously. This included children. My father was beaten up regularly by policeman who would be looking for documents or information on Luthuli. The documents had been hidden either under the house in Groutville or our home in Gledo. When Luthuli was banned repeatedly he could not travel into the town of Stanger. My father would open the shop really early and Luthuli will come and sit in the shop KaMabaso-Mhlongo elaborates.