A South African (SA) court has ruled that Nobel laureate Albert Luthuli’s death in 1967 was the result of an assault by apartheid police, overturning decades of claims that it was accidental.

An inquest held during the apartheid era concluded that Luthuli, the first African to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, had died after being struck by a freight train while walking along railway tracks. However, activists and Luthuli’s family had long questioned that finding, prompting the South African government to reopen the case earlier this year.

On Thursday, a judge ruled that Luthuli died from a fractured skull and cerebral haemorrhage consistent with an assault. His family has welcomed the ruling, describing it as a long-overdue affirmation of the truth surrounding the anti-apartheid leader’s death.

–ChannelAfrica–