Nearly five decades after Steve Biko died in apartheid police custody, South African talk radio spent the week tracking the reopened inquest into his death at the Ggeberha High Court. Presenters and reporters across 702, Cape Talk, Power FM and SAfm framed the proceedings as a long-delayed test of whether the state can finally answer the question the 1977 inquest ducked: what really happened in that interrogation room, and who bears responsibility.
The first day of hearings, however, was consumed less by testimony than by a fight over money. Legal Aid South Africa had declined the Biko family's application after a means test, forcing a scramble involving the Justice Minister before Biko's widow, Ntsiki, could take the stand. Stations juxtaposed that delay with a parallel wrangle over legal funding for two former security police officers named as persons of interest.
Commentary shifted from procedural reporting to reflection on unfinished TRC business, with Power FM presenters in particular asking whether the country is capable of correcting the historical record without confusing accountability for revenge.
Talk radio treated the reopening of the Biko inquest as one of the week's defining stories, with all four monitored stations leading multiple bulletins on the Ggeberha High Court proceedings. Cape Talk and 702 opened Monday morning framing it identically: a "long-awaited" inquest, reopened last September, nearly five decades after Biko died in apartheid police custody following his arrest near Grahamstown, now Makanda.12 Power FM's newsroom carried the same top line into its 8:30 and 9am bulletins, noting the 1977 inquest had "accepted the police versions of events" and that no one was ever prosecuted.34
The reporting quickly pivoted from history to a very present-day obstacle: money. Cape Talk's court reporter Nkosikhona Malinga-Mnisi told listeners the Biko family had applied for legal aid to represent them at the inquest, where widow Ntsiki Biko is expected to testify, but that Legal Aid South Africa's COO Nzumbetse Nemasisi had informed the court, appearing virtually from Johannesburg, that the family did not qualify after a means test.56 SAfm put it plainly: the widow's "income and asset value exceeded the criteria" for legal aid funding.7
702's Mandy Wiener crossed live to court as the delay dragged on, with Malinga-Mnisi explaining that the morning had been lost to Legal Aid representatives rather than evidence.8 By the afternoon bulletins, both 702 and Cape Talk were reporting that engagements with the Justice Minister and the department's Director-General had unlocked funding for the family's representation — a resolution that stations framed as a near-miss rather than a triumph.910
Running alongside the family's funding fight was a second, more uncomfortable one. Cape Talk and 702 both flagged that proceedings had "already been delayed several times over issues including legal funding for two former police officers identified as persons of interest."112 The juxtaposition — a struggle to fund the widow's lawyers while the state weighed funding for the men in the frame — was left implicit in the news copy but hung over the coverage.
702's Mandy Wiener drew the sharpest link to the broader accountability crisis, noting the inquest was reopening "at the same time that Minister Ronald Lamola is under cross-examination at the TRC inquiry for the ongoing delays in prosecutions in TRC-related cases." She wondered aloud "if there'll ever be true justice or any kind of explanation."12 Her reporter picked up the thread, citing the Azanian People's Organisation's "resounding view that the original inquest was a whitewash" and Azapo's decades-long call for the full truth, "including any institutional cover-up that followed Biko's death."13
Power FM's evening programming turned the story philosophical. A presenter opened by asking: "What really happened to Steve Biko? And perhaps more importantly, what would the best possible outcome of this inquest actually look like?"14 The answer offered on air was uncompromising: "The first and most important outcome should be the truth and not a convenient or politically comfortable truth… Who was responsible for the injuries that killed Steve Biko? What happened in that interrogation room? Who knew?"15
That same host pushed further, invoking Biko's own writing: "Steve Biko famously challenged black South Africans to reject the psychological oppression imposed by apartheid. Nearly half a century after his death, perhaps the least we can do is reject another kind of oppression, and that is the oppression of unanswered questions and delayed healing."16 By the following morning, the framing had softened but not retreated: "Sometimes moving forward does not mean forgetting, and accountability does not have to mean revenge… There's a difference between wanting someone punished because we're angry and wanting the historical record corrected because justice demands it."17
What stations left unresolved is what the inquest can realistically deliver. Power FM noted the reopened process "will examine whether any actions or failures by those involved amounted to a criminal offence," holding out the prospect of "long-awaited answers for Biko's family."4 But with the first day lost to funding disputes, TRC-era prosecutions stalled, and the two persons of interest still contesting the terms of their own participation, presenters were candid that the arc from this courtroom to any recognisable form of accountability remains long. Worth watching in the coming sittings: whether Ntsiki Biko's testimony reframes the public record, and whether the security police witnesses appear at all.
- 702
- Cape Talk
- Power FM
- SAfm
Citations
- 1.
“Reopened inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko is set to get underway in the Kabeka High Court this morning. The inquest was reopened last September, nearly five decades after Biko died in apartheid police custody. But proceedings have already been delayed several times over issues including legal funding for two former police officers identified as persons of interest. Nkosakona Malingam Nisi has more. Steve Biko, a founder of the Black Consciousness Movement.”
- 2.
“Municipalities, this disease of outsourcing everything. And the long-awaited reopened inquest into the death of anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko is set to get underway in the Grebeka High Court this morning. The inquest was reopened last September, nearly five decades after Biko died in Apartheid police custody. But proceedings have already been delayed several times over issues including legal funding for two former police officers.”
- 3.
“Was it 2.5 that it owed to Eskom? It's power breakfast. Let's get you the latest news headlines. It's 8:30. Here's where you must go. Thanks, Mr. TT. A very good morning and newsmaking headlines at this hour. The long-awaited inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko is set to resume in the Trepe High Court today. The case was reopened last year, nearly 50 years after Biko died in Apartheid police.”
- 4.
“High court today, nearly 50 years after the anti-apartheid activist died in an apartheid police custody. Bika was arrested in August of 1977 and died weeks later at the age of 30 years old from severe injury sustained while in detention. A 1977 inquest accepted the police versions of events and no one was prosecuted. Three open inquests launched last year will examine whether any actions or failures by those involved amounted to a criminal offense, potentially providing”
- 5.
“Almost 50 years since the anti-apartheid icon's death in police custody. Nkosikono Malinga Minisi reports. The Biko family had applied for legal aid to represent them in the inquest where his widow Nunzigele Bico is expected to testify. Appearing virtually from his Johannesburg office, Legal Aid South Africa COO Nsumbetsenine Nemasisi told the court the family did not qualify after Amin's test. But after engaging the justice minister and director”
- 6.
“The inquest was reopened last September, nearly five decades after Biko died in police custody following his arrest near Gramstown, now Makanda. Biko, a founder of the Black Consciousness Movement, died on the 12th of September 1977, aged 30 after suffering severe brain injuries and kidney failure. The court has heard that Biko's family's application for legal aid was declined after a means test found they did not qualify for funding. Appearing virtually, Legal Aid South Africa's CO.”
- 7.
“Apartheid activist Steve Biko's death at the High Court in the Eastern Cape. This follows funding issues, as legal aid did not approve the family's request for funding due to a means test that revealed that the wife of Steve Biko's income and asset value exceeded the criteria that was required for legal aid to be able to fund the request. The inquest is expected to continue tomorrow, with witnesses taking the stand. Steve Biko's son in Kosanati. We spent the first half of the day dealing with a question of request.”
- 8.
“Inquest into Steve Biko's death that is currently underway. It started a short while ago. Our reporter, Nkosikuna Malinga Mnisi, has been in the court for us. And Kosikuna, good afternoon to you. Tell us about what has happened there so far. Good afternoon to you, Mandy, as well as to our listeners. The court is currently in session after the delay in getting things started this morning, purely because we are now hearing from the representatives of Legal Aid South Africa who are”
- 9.
“Biko's family in the reopened inquest into his death. The decision comes after Legal Aid South Africa declined the family's application, citing failed means tests and financial constraints. The inquest got underway in the Becha High Court today, almost 50 years after Biker died in apartheid police custody. A second attempt by Woosmuzi Katmatala's lawyers to halt his testimony has fallen flat at the Maldanga Commission. Matala returned to the hot seat.”
- 10.
“The inquest was reopened last September, nearly five decades after Bikor died in police custody following his arrest near Gramstown, now Makanda. Bikor, a founder of the Black Consciousness Movement, died on the 12th of September 1977, aged 30. Yesterday, the court heard that Bikor's family's application for legal aid was declined after a means test found they did not qualify for funding. However, following engagements with the Justice Minister and Director General, the department confirmed.”
- 11.
“High court this morning. The inquest was reopened last September, nearly five decades after Biko died in a bagdate police custody. But proceedings have already been delayed several times over issues including legal funding for two former police officers identified as persons of interest. Steve Bikor, a founder of the Black Consciousness Movement, was arrested at a road blank near Grahamstown, Namakanda, in August 1977. He was later seriously injured in police.”
- 12.
“So, that matter being postponed today, quite a few other court cases we'll bring you up to speed with as well. And can you believe all these years later, finally, the inquest into the death of Steve Biko being reopened? And ironically, of course, this comes at the same time that Minister Ronald Lomola is under cross-examination at the TRC inquiry for the ongoing delays in prosecutions in TRC-related cases. I wonder if there'll ever be true justice or any kind of explanation.”
- 13.
“From the Eastern Cape to Pretoria, where he died. Goskwana Malingam Nisi reports. There is a resounding view that the original inquest was a whitewash and that those responsible for Steve Biko's death were never properly held to account. That inquest found no one criminally responsible for his death. The Azamian People's Organization says the latest process must uncover the full truth, including any institutional cover-up that followed Biko's death. Azapo says it has spent decades calling for justice, including children.”
- 14.
“Almost 50 years after Steve Biko died in police custody, we are back in a courtroom asking a question that South Africa has never received a proper answer to. What really happened to Steve Biko? And perhaps more importantly, what would the best possible outcome of his inquest actually look like? Of this inquest actually look like? The inquest commenced yesterday in Cabecha.”
- 15.
“Expect from this process. I think the first and most important outcome should be the truth and not a convenient or politically comfortable truth. The question's on everybody's mind for the last 30 years and some change. Sorry, 50 years and some change. Who was responsible for the injuries that killed Steve Biko? What happened in that interrogation room? Who knew?”
- 16.
“In fact, we're getting to the point where we need to heal from the last 30 years, to be quite frank. Steve Biko famously challenged black South Africans to reject the psychological oppression imposed by Apartheid. Nearly half a century after his death, perhaps the least we can do is reject another kind of oppression, and that is the oppression of unanswered questions and delayed healing. So, as this inquest continues in Kebeja, perhaps that is”
- 17.
“Almost 50 years after Steve Biko died in police custody, we are back in a courtroom asking a question that South Africa has never received a proper answer to. Sometimes moving forward does not mean forgetting, and accountability does not have to mean revenge and recourse. There's a difference between wanting someone punished because we're angry and wanting the historical record corrected because justice demands it. And I think that is”