Chief Albert Luthuli, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of the ANC, is killed in Groutville
Chief Albert Luthuli
Date: 21 July, 1967
Tragedy struck on 21 July 1967, when Chief Albert Luthuli was struck by a train on a railway bridge close to the home that he had been confined to by the Apartheid regime in Groutville, (then) Stanger, KwaZulu-Natal. Chief Luthuli, President-General of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1952 until his death in 1967, was also the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960. Born near Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, in 1898, the Chief's family moved to Kwazulu- Natal in 1908.
Luthuli trained as a teacher and lay preacher in the Methodist Church. His political activities and defiance brought him into direct conflict with the apartheid Government. He was banned from public gatherings and confined to his home. This however did not stop him from playing a political role in the country. Throughout his life Chief Luthuli was a steadfast believer that a non-racial and equal society in South Africa could be achieved.
Related:
References:
- The legacy of Albert Luthuli (Online), available at: http://www.southafrica.info [Accessed 12 July 2010]
- Chief Albert Luthuli (Online), available at: http://africanhistory.about.com [Accessed 12 July 2010]