On September 12, 2025, the High Court in Gqeberha, South Africa, became the focal point of a long-awaited reckoning, as the inquest into the death of anti-apartheid leader Steve Biko was officially reopened—precisely 48 years after his passing. For decades, Biko’s family and supporters have demanded the truth about what happened in the notorious police room 619, where Biko, the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement and a towering figure in the fight against white-minority rule, spent his final days.
Steve Biko’s death on September 12, 1977, at the age of 30, sent shockwaves across South Africa and the world. According to the BBC, Biko died from a brain injury nearly a month after being arrested at a roadblock in Eastern Cape province for violating a banning order that restricted his movements. The apartheid police at the time claimed he had banged his head against a wall during a scuffle, but that explanation was met with disbelief and outrage, especially among the black South African community. As reported by NPR, black spectators at the original 1977 inquest gasped and whistled in disbelief when police gave their testimony.
Despite the global outcry and the subsequent end of apartheid in 1994, no one was ever prosecuted for Biko’s death. The original inquest assigned no criminal liability, and the case became emblematic of the impunity that shielded perpetrators of apartheid-era violence. As Devdiscourse and The Mirror note, Biko’s family has spent decades demanding a reopening of the case, determined to see justice done and the full truth revealed.
“It’s very clear in our minds as to what happened and how they killed Steve Biko,” his son, Nkosinathi Biko, told the BBC after the first hearing in Gqeberha. Nkosinathi, who was just six years old when his father died, has vivid memories of the day—his mother’s anguish, the shattering news, and the certainty that the police were responsible. “I knew, even then, that the cops must have killed him,” he recalled in an interview with The Mirror.
The details of Biko’s final days are harrowing. As reported by NPR and The Mirror, he was held naked and shackled in leg irons for nearly a month in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), with medical assistance only sought after 24 days when foam was seen around his mouth. He was then transported, still unconscious and naked, in the back of a police Land Rover for an 800-mile journey to a Pretoria prison hospital. There, he died of extensive brain injuries and acute kidney failure. The official explanation, that he had battered his own head in, was met with widespread skepticism. The Mirror’s editorial from the time captured the incredulity: “Now we have ‘battered own head in.’ If Mr Kruger thinks anyone will swallow that he must be suffering from brain damage himself.”
Biko’s death quickly became a rallying point for anti-apartheid activism, both in South Africa and abroad. He inspired global icons—singer Peter Gabriel dedicated his 1980 song “Biko” to him, and Denzel Washington portrayed him in the 1987 film Cry Freedom. Nelson Mandela, who was himself imprisoned when Biko died, later called him “the spark that lit a veld fire across South Africa,” asserting that the government “had to kill him to prolong the life of apartheid.”
The 1997 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), established under President Nelson Mandela and led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, heard testimony from the five policemen implicated in Biko’s death. According to the BBC and NPR, the officers admitted to having made false statements in the past but refused to admit guilt; consequently, they were not granted immunity from prosecution. The TRC uncovered a litany of atrocities committed during apartheid—murders, torture, and disappearances—but relatively few of these cases ever led to criminal trials.
The reopening of Biko’s inquest comes on the heels of a broader push for accountability. As NPR and BBC report, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a judicial inquiry in April 2025 to investigate allegations of political interference in the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes. Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who directed the reopening under the Inquests Act, emphasized the government’s renewed commitment to resolving politically motivated deaths left unresolved during apartheid. “This decision reaffirms government’s commitment to upholding the rule of law, promoting accountability, and pursuing justice for families affected by deaths that still demand clarity and resolution,” she stated to The Mirror.
Two of the five policemen implicated in Biko’s death remain alive, both now in their 80s. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has pledged, as reported by Devdiscourse and NPR, to continue its efforts to confront past atrocities and assist the Biko family and broader society in achieving closure. Luxolo Tyali, NPA spokesperson, stated the reopening was intended “to address the atrocities of the past and assist in providing closure to the Biko family and society at large.” The NPA’s regional spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, further told The Mirror: “For murder there are no time limitations for prosecuting. Justice must be done—no matter how long it may take. And the crimes of the apartheid era are not to be forgotten.”
The new inquest, according to all sources, was adjourned until November 12, 2025, when witness testimony will be heard and case management will continue. The hope, as articulated by Biko’s son and echoed by many South Africans, is that this process will finally bring the full truth to light and hold those responsible to account. Nkosinathi Biko underscored the significance: “Accountability for our violent, brutal past is something that has evaded South African society. You cannot have the trauma that we had, the flow of blood in the streets orchestrated by a state against a people, and then you emerge with less than a handful of prosecutions ever being successfully made.”
Despite the passage of nearly half a century, the wounds of apartheid remain fresh for many South Africans. The reopening of Steve Biko’s inquest is not just about one man’s death—it is about a nation’s ongoing struggle to confront its history, to reckon with injustice, and to build a democracy rooted in truth. As the world watches, South Africa once again finds itself at a crossroads, with the opportunity to deliver long-delayed justice and closure not only for the Biko family but for all those who suffered under apartheid’s shadow.
The next chapter in this historic case—set for November—may finally provide the answers and accountability that so many have sought for so long.