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The first inquest, human rights lawyer and ANC activist, Griffiths Mxenge
The reopened inquest into the death of human rights lawyer and African National Congress (ANC) activist, Griffiths Mxenge, has been postponed until the 9th of October at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg.
The court has adjourned the inquest to allow implicated former police officers to get legal representation from the state.
Mxenge was kidnapped in Umlazi in the south of Durban and murdered in 1981. The first inquest in 1982 found that his killers could not be identified. The involvement of a security police death squad came to light in 1989.
This was Judge Pieter Bezuidenhout’s order, “The prosecution is to inform the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the state attorney that if the legal representation of the other witnesses are not finalised by the 9th of October 2025, it is directed that a representative of the SAPS and the state attorney be in attendance at court to explain why such appointments could not have been finalised by that stage.”
INQUEST UPDATE
[IN PICTURES]: The inquest into the brutal murder of struggle hero and human rights lawyer, Cde Griffiths Mxenge, has been adjourned to 9 October 2025. The State has vowed to subpoena all individuals linked to the murder, with or without legal representation, as… pic.twitter.com/3lZcfoLYmr
— ANCKZN (@ANCKZN) June 17, 2025
Meanwhile, Mxenge’s family hopes the reopened inquest will help them get answers as to who was behind his murder.
Mxenge’s daughter, Ntombodidi Mxenge-Makhanya is amongst people who attended the court proceedings. She says the death of their father and mother, Victoria, affected the wellbeing of the family.
“We were devastated. When my grandfather passed on, he was extremely unhappy. They suffered, health wise as well as my siblings; all of us we were devastated, especially when my mother passed on and then they burned our home.”
She says that as a family, it has been quite tough.
“Sometimes it gets hard to even think about it, but we are grateful and we can only pray that the truth will come out; not only for us as the family but for everybody in South Africa. These political killings are not right,” adds Mxenge-Makhanya.
