** Visit AAM's new website! http://www.africanassociation.org ** 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, visit: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/aam.html AAM Website: http://www.africanassociation.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------