Steve Biko Remembered 49 Years After Death in Police Custody
South Africa is marking 49 years since Black Consciousness Movement leader Steve Bantu Biko died in police custody on 12 September 1977, with his family continuing to call for accountability and a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Biko, who was 30, was arrested with fellow activist Peter Jones at a roadblock near Grahamstown, now Makhanda, on 18 August 1977. He was later detained at Walmer Police Station in Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, where he was held by members of the apartheid-era security police.
On 6 September, Biko was taken to Room 619 at the Security Branch offices in the Sanlam Building in Port Elizabeth. He suffered severe head injuries while in custody. Instead of being taken to a nearby hospital, he was transported about 1,200km to Pretoria in the back of a police vehicle, critically injured and shackled. He died shortly after arriving at Pretoria prison on 12 September.
A 1977 inquest concluded that Biko had died from a brain injury sustained during a struggle and found no one criminally responsible for his death. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission later rejected the explanations given by members of the security police and described the circumstances surrounding Biko’s death as a gross human-rights violation.
The inquest into Biko’s death was reopened in 2025. However, the proceedings were halted this week after the Biko family approached the Gqeberha High Court seeking more time to prepare and to properly examine and translate historical documents and evidence.
The court granted an order staying further proceedings pending the finalisation of the family’s review application. The review is to be dealt with on an expedited basis.
The family, represented by Advocate Dali Mpofu SC, has argued that the process must be properly prepared rather than becoming a rushed or “performative” exercise. Nkosinathi Biko said the family welcomed the court’s intervention “with heavy hearts”, stressing that the aim was to ensure the evidence was properly investigated while key people connected to the case are still alive.
The 49th anniversary is being marked with a wreath-laying ceremony at Biko’s grave in Qonce, a memorial lecture at Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha and church services.
For the Biko family, the commemorations come as the renewed legal process continues its search for answers nearly five decades after his death.
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