- The High Court in Gqeberha has stepped in to pause the reopened inquest into Biko’s death.
- The family wants time to address weaknesses and gaps in the investigation before the proceedings go further.
- They insist the process must be thorough and not just another “performative process.”
The inquest into Steve Biko’s death has been temporarily suspended following an urgent application by the Biko family to the High Court in Gqeberha.
The family requested the court’s intervention, saying the matter was not ready to continue and more time was needed to properly address shortcomings in the process. The judge agreed to grant relief in line with a revised draft order, explaining that he was convinced there was a good case for pausing the proceedings.
“I am satisfied that a proper case has been made, and it would be appropriate in this case to intervene in proceedings currently underway,” the judge said. He noted that while he was initially reluctant to grant all the relief requested in the original notice of motion, he was prepared to accept the amended draft.
“I was less inclined to grant all the relief set out in the original notice of motion, but that has been watered down to some extent in the draft order, and accordingly I make the order in terms of the draft.” No new date has been set for the inquest to continue.
Family calls for a proper process
The Biko family insists that its goal is not to delay proceedings, but to make sure the inquest is handled thoroughly and properly.
Nkosinathi Biko, Steve Biko’s son, said the family is still worried about the quality of the process and whether the available evidence is being fully explored.
The family is especially concerned that the process could simply go through the motions without addressing weaknesses that have appeared in the investigation. “The decision is fresh out of the oven, as it were, and I want to be emphatic about what it is that we are attempting to do,” the family said.
“As the senior counsel indicated, we are very concerned about delays to a matter of this nature. But we are also concerned about having a performative process. We have been through that.”
The family said it therefore had to ask the inquest court to look into these weaknesses before letting the proceedings move forward.
Concerns over the investigation
A central worry is the state of the investigation docket and whether everyone involved in the inquest has access to all relevant material. The family highlighted evidence from the investigating officer suggesting that the docket contains serious gaps.
“If the investigating officer says the docket has got gaping holes, it is concerning that the matter is moving forward because it deprives the family and other interested parties of the opportunity to interrogate the version presented before that court,” the family said.
The concern is that the inquest should not proceed when interested parties have not had a fair chance to examine and challenge the evidence being presented.
The reopened inquest is revisiting the circumstances around Biko’s death while he was in the custody of apartheid police in 1977.
Biko, who led the Black Consciousness Movement, died in police custody in September 1977 after suffering severe injuries. His death stands as one of the most powerful symbols of apartheid-era police brutality.
The renewed inquest aims to review the circumstances of his death and establish whether the evidence supports new findings that could establish responsibility.
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