“Luthuli experienced difficulties in receiving Nobel Peace Prize” – SABC News
Despite African National Congress (ANC) leader Inkosi Albert Luthuli being under house arrest and constant surveillance by the apartheid government, he was able to hide documents in a secret basement under his house.
Luthuli’s daughter-in-law, Wilheminah Luthuli, testified in the Pietermaritzburg High Court yesterday that these documents were smuggled to the United States after his death.
She was testifying in the re-opened inquest into Luthuli’s death in 1967.
The initial inquest found that Luthuli was accidentally hit by a train, however, his family has rejected the finding.
Wilheminah Luthuli told the court that her father-in-law even had difficulty receiving his Nobel Peace Prize in Norway in 1961.
“Maybe I can add that even though he went to collect his Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, that trip was delayed a lot. Because the government didn’t want him to go. But pressure was put on it until they succumbed.”
She also said that Luthuli had sustained a head injury, and she observed no other injuries to his body.
She has also refuted reports that Chief Luthuli had poor vision, poor hearing and was unwell at the time.
The inquest continues today.