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Lack of Evidence Ends Biko Murder Case
By SHARON GOLAN
Associated Press Writer

October 7, 2003, 1:04 PM EDT

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- The five policemen who were accused of killing
anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in 1977 won't be prosecuted because of
insufficient evidence, justice ministry officials said Tuesday.

A murder charge could not be supported in part because there were no
witnesses to the killing, officials said.

Charges of culpable homicide and assault were also considered, but because
the killing of the black consciousness movement leader occurred in 1977, the
time frame for prosecution had lapsed.

"We can only prosecute if there is sufficient evidence to justify the charge,
but there is not enough evidence. ... If at a later stage new evidence
emerged that cleared the problems we've had, we would reconsider our
decision. With a matter like this, we can't leave it hanging, we must have
finality," said Chris MacAdam, a lawyer for the National Prosecuting
Authority.

In 1999, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was formed to help
heal apartheid's emotional and psychological wounds, denied amnesty to the
five men.

To qualify for amnesty under the TRC, applicants had to prove a political
motive for their crimes and tell the commission the full truth of their
activities.

All five said Biko, 30, tried to attack one of his interrogators while in
custody in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth. They said they tackled him and
accidentally slammed his head against a wall.

An unresponsive Biko remained chained to a metal gate in a standing position
for two days while police waited to see if they could continue the
interrogation.

Eventually, he was taken in a police van, naked and bleeding, on a 750-mile
trip to a prison in Pretoria, where he died of brain injuries on Sept. 12,
1977.

Biko's message of black pride in the mid-1970s appealed to many young people
in South Africa's townships, and his death made him a martyr in the struggle
against apartheid.

The case sparked an outcry at home and abroad and spurred activism that
contributed to the end of white-minority rule, also inspiring the 1987
movie "Cry Freedom," with Denzel Washington.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

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