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Son of salient South African anti-apartheid activistic Steve Biko has told the BBC the household is assured a caller inquest into his decease 48 years agone would pb to the prosecution of those responsible.
Seen arsenic a martyr successful the conflict against white-minority rule, the Black Consciousness Movement laminitis died from a encephalon wounded aged 30 astir a period aft being arrested astatine a roadblock.
Police astatine the clip said helium had banged his caput against a wall, but aft apartheid ended successful 1994, erstwhile officers admitted to assaulting him – though no-one has been prosecuted.
Nkosinathi Biko, who was six erstwhile his begetter died, said the state could not determination guardant without addressing its convulsive past.
“It’s precise wide successful our minds arsenic to what happened and however they killed Steve Biko,” helium told the BBC aft the archetypal proceeding was held astatine the High Court successful the confederate metropolis of Gqeberha – connected the 48th day of his father’s death.
It is alleged that Biko, who had been taxable to a “banning order” that restricted his movements and different activities astatine the clip of his apprehension successful 1977, was tortured by 5 policemen portion successful detention.
“What is required from this process is simply to travel the facts, and we person nary uncertainty that a antiauthoritarian court, successful a antiauthoritarian state, volition find that Steve Biko’s execution was an act, orchestrated and executed by those who were with him – the 5 policemen who are implicated successful this case,” his lad said.
On Friday, the justice heard that 2 radical linked to the lawsuit stay alive, some present successful their 80s.
Biko’s decease caused outrage successful South Africa and was the taxable of the 1987 Hollywood movie Cry Freedom, starring Denzel Washington.
He had been a aesculapian pupil astatine the University of Natal erstwhile helium founded the Black Consciousness Movement, aimed astatine empowering and mobilising the municipality achromatic population.
He was determined to combat the intelligence inferiority that galore achromatic South Africans felt aft years of white-minority regularisation and astatine a clip erstwhile anti-apartheid activists similar Nelson Mandela had been silenced and incarcerated by the regime.
The caller inquest comes 5 months aft President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a judicial enquiry into allegations of governmental interference successful the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), acceptable up successful 1996, uncovered apartheid-era atrocities similar execution and torture, but fewer of these cases progressed to trial.
Biko’s lawsuit was heard astatine the TRC, which is wherever the policemen progressive admitted to having made mendacious statements 20 years earlier, but they were not prosecuted.
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