The long-awaited inquest into the brutal murder of prominent human rights lawyer Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge returns to the Pietermaritzburg High Court on 9 October, marking another chapter in the pursuit of justice for one of apartheid’s most shocking assassinations.
Mxenge, a veteran African National Congress (ANC) member and fearless defender of anti-apartheid activists, was kidnapped and murdered by Security Branch operatives on 19 November 1981. The 45-year-old lawyer was stabbed 45 times with okapi knives and a hunting knife, his throat slit, ears severed, and stomach ripped open, in what Truth and Reconciliation Commission records later revealed as a deliberate terror killing designed to intimidate the legal community.
Mxenge had built a distinguished legal career defending political prisoners and exposing human rights abuses under the apartheid regime. His work made him a prime target for the state’s security apparatus, leading to imprisonment, constant harassment, and death threats before his eventual assassination.
The killing was carried out by members of the notorious Vlakplaas death squad, including Dirk Coetzee, Almond Nofomela, Joe Mamasela, Brian Ngqulunga, and David Tshikalanga. These operatives later confessed to the murder during Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in the 1990s and received amnesty in 1996.
In August 1985, the tragedy deepened when Mxenge’s wife, Victoria Mxenge, also a prominent civil rights lawyer who had continued her husband’s work, was shot and axed to death at their home in Umlazi in front of their children. Her murder was carried out by an apartheid agent on the eve of the Pietermaritzburg Treason Trial where she was defending UDF leaders.
The current inquest first appeared before the high court on 14 April this year, but was immediately derailed by procedural issues. Former Security Branch members indicated they required legal representation, forcing an adjournment.
The proceedings were postponed to 17 June to allow these individuals to apply for legal representation at the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) expense. However, when court resumed, the application process remained incomplete, necessitating the further postponement to 9 October.
NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that presiding judicial officers have issued stern directives regarding the ongoing delays. Should the legal representation processes remain unfinalised by 9 October 2025, both SAPS Legal and State Attorney representatives must appear in court to explain the reasons for the hold-up.
The Mxenge family has persistently sought answers about who ordered the assassination, believing the confessed killers acted on instructions from senior apartheid officials who have never been held accountable.
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