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The African National Congress (ANC) members attend the re-opened inquest into the death of former party president, Chief Albert Luthuli in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on April 28, 2025.
An expert on steam trains, Les Labuschagne will continue with his testimony today in the re-opened inquest into the death of former African National Congress (ANC) president, Chief Albert Luthuli in the Pietermaritzburg High Court in KwaZulu-Natal.
Yesterday, Labuschagne poked holes in the statement of the train driver, Stephanus Albertus Lategan in the first inquest in 1967.
That inquest found that Luthuli was accidentally hit by a train. Labuschagne helped to reconstruct the crash.
He says the fact that Lategan was allowed to continue driving the train after the accident proves that Luthuli was not hit by a train.
Labuschagne told the court he believes Luthuli was already lying by the railway track when the train approached.
He says, “With the station master instructing the driver that he may depart with the train and he will take care of the patient, clearly tells me that Chief Luthuli was not struck by a train.”
Labuschagne adds, “He was found lying next to the railway line, because in that case, the train will stop, we will investigate, we’ll see somebody has been lying there. Clearly the person has not been struck by a train doing 40 km/h on a steel bridge, the guard will afford protection, he will notify the master, the station master will come. He will see this injured person lying there, clearly see that, that person has not been struck by train, he will then have the authority to instruct the driver to continue with his trip.”
VIDEO | Inquest into the death of Chief Albert Luthuli:
