South Africa has reopened the inquest into the 1977 death of anti-apartheid icon Steve Biko, 48 years after the Black Consciousness Movement leader died in police custody, as the government seeks to uncover the truth behind what was long alleged to be a brutal murder disguised as an accident.

Biko, arrested in Eastern Cape for violating a movement ban, was held naked and shackled for nearly a month in Room 619 at Port Elizabeth police station, now Gqeberha. Police claimed he died after hitting his head on a wall during a scuffle, but the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) notes that medical aid was sought only after foam appeared around his mouth, and he was transported unconscious 1,200 kilometers to Pretoria, where he succumbed at age 30 from brain injury and kidney failure.

The 1997 Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard similar accounts, but no prosecutions followed, prompting questions about restorative justice under Nelson Mandela.

NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali states the reopening addresses past atrocities and provides closure for Biko’s family and society. The original inquest drew gasps from spectators at police testimony, while Biko’s global legacy, immortalized in Peter Gabriel’s 1980 song and Denzel Washington’s portrayal in 1987’s *Cry Freedom*, endures.

This effort aligns with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s April inquiry into blocked apartheid prosecutions, including the 1989 “Cradock Four” murders. Set against apartheid’s legacy of state violence, the inquest aims to heal wounds from a system that suppressed Black activism for decades.