TRAUMA REVISITED: Biko’s injuries point to repeated, brutal assaults over days, inquest hears
Forensic evidence presented at the reopened inquest suggests Steve Biko suffered multiple injuries over several days, contradicting the apartheid police’s account of a single ‘scuffle’. The hearing also heard fresh evidence about what happened to Biko in custody before his death.
A fresh inquest into Steve Biko's death has revealed that the anti-apartheid activist suffered multiple injuries over several days, contradicting the apartheid police's claim that he sustained them during a single "scuffle." Forensic evidence presented at the hearing indicates that Biko's extensive injuries were inflicted at different times, with some dating back hours and others spanning several days before his death on September 12, 1977, at the age of 30.
Specialist forensic pathologist Dr. Shakeera Holland, who led the review, found no evidence to support the police's account and concluded that Biko had experienced ongoing and repeated trauma to his head, which ultimately led to his death. The Biko family, 48 years after his death, has expressed the need for justice in light of these revelations.
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