On Thursday, the Pietermaritzburg High Court reopened the inquest into the heart-wrenching death of Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge, the courageous human rights lawyer who was brutally killed by the Security Branch in November 1981.
The proceedings aim to explore the circumstances surrounding Mxenge’s death, a poignant reminder of South Africa’s tumultuous past under apartheid.
The National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, said the inquest made its first appearance in court on April 14, 2025, but it did not advance due to concerns pertaining to the legal representation of former members of the Security Branch.
The proceedings were then adjourned to June 2025 and October 10, on Thursday to afford the former members of the Security Branch an opportunity to apply for legal representation from their former employer, the South African Police Service (SAPS).
“Today the court heard that the SAPS legal services have approved all their applications for legal representation, and the matters have been sent to the State Attorney for allocation,” she said.
Ramkisson-Kara added that the proceedings were remanded to November 27, 2025, for the presence of outstanding witnesses and legal representatives.
“The court issued a directive to the State Attorney regarding the status of the allocation process,” she added.
Mxenge’s untimely death remains a stark reminder of the brutalities faced by those who dared to oppose the apartheid regime.
In 1981, Mxenge was returning home from his legal office in the Durban central business district, when he was kidnapped, brutally murdered and his body was found on a sports field in Umlazi south of Durban.
His son, Mbasa Mxenge, then 15 years old, said the family welcomed the reopening of the inquest and appealed to the assassins, who confessed their involvement in the killing to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC), to reveal who had ordered them to carry out the killing.
He said former Vlakplaas operative Dirk Coetzee had been identified as the key figure in the killing, but the family still believes he was not acting alone and would have received orders from the senior apartheid government officials.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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