Gqeberha – The reopened inquest into the death of Black Consciousness Movement leader Steve Biko has been temporarily halted after his family asked the High Court in Gqeberha for more time to prepare for the proceedings.
The family’s legal team told the court on Wednesday that it needed more time to consult with Biko’s widow and prepare its case.
The application comes due to concerns about the readiness of the parties involved, including outstanding evidence, legal representation and the translation of documents from previous proceedings.
The Biko family’s lawyers have been working to secure funding and senior counsel for the inquest. The Justice Department has since indicated that it will cover the family’s legal costs.
However, the legal team still needs to translate records from the original 1977 inquest and the 1997 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) proceedings, much of which was conducted in Afrikaans.
The translations are needed to allow the family to compare the evidence presented during the previous proceedings with evidence expected to be heard in the reopened inquest.
The state has also raised concerns about its readiness, while the investigating officer has been given additional time to locate outstanding evidence, documents and witnesses.
Advocate Mokgai Tobi, who represents the Biko family, warned that continuing the inquest without proper preparation could result in another injustice.
Tobi said the original inquest into Biko’s death had failed to produce satisfactory results and that the subsequent TRC process had also failed to provide the family with answers.
[WATCH] The reopened inquest into Steve Biko’s death has been halted. Biko’s family approached the court, asking for a temporary pause in proceedings, saying they need more time to prepare. @Sipha_KemaSA has more from the Gqeberha High Court.#Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/h5OYWJruxr
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) September 9, 2026
“Now we are 30 years after the TRC, and we once again, the slightest threat of having an ineffective process, my Lord, should be something that our own human being should not be able to tolerate,” Tobi said.
He said proceeding without adequate preparation would amount to “a serialised traumatisation of the Biko family”.
The family said it was not seeking unnecessary delays but wanted to ensure the inquest was properly conducted.
“The decision is fresh out of the oven, as it were,” a family representative told Newsroom Afrika.
“We are very concerned about delays to a matter of this nature. But we are also concerned about having a performative process. We have been through that.”
The family said it was particularly concerned that the investigating officer had acknowledged gaps in the docket.
“If the investigating officer says the docket has got gaping holes, it’s concerning then that the matter is moving forward because it deprives the family and other interested parties the opportunity to interrogate the version presented before that court,” the family said.
The temporary halt will allow the parties to work on outstanding evidence while a review is considered following an earlier decision to dismiss an application to postpone the inquest.
Biko died in police custody in September 1977 after being detained under apartheid security laws.
The reopened inquest is aimed at examining the circumstances surrounding his death and whether those responsible can be held accountable.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, X and Instagram
Picture: X/@Legal_corner_
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Glaan Sibuyi
