An inquest into the death in detention of the white trade union leader, Dr. Neil Aggett opens

Date: 21 Dec 1982
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

An inquest into the death in detention of the white trade union leader, Dr. Neil Aggett opens

At the conclusion of a forty-four day inquest into the death in detention of white trade union leader, Dr. Neil Aggett, the Johannesburg magistrate, Pieter Kotze, found that no one was to blame for his death. The verdict, which completely exonerates the Security Police, was greeted with astonishment and anger. On 05 February 1982, Aggett, Transvaal organiser of the Food and Canning Workers Union and African Food and Canning Workers Union, allegedly committed suicide while in detention by hanging himself with a scarf. He was the first white person to die in detention since 1963. At the time of his untimely death, he was 28 years old. Aggett was buried on 11 February, 1982 in Johannesburg and around 15 000 people attended his funeral. On the day of his funeral his labour organisation called on all workers to stay away from work. About 7 000 FOSATU workers at the Uitenhage branch of Volkswagen responded.

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How we know this

01O’Malley P. ‘1982’, from Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and Dialog, [online], available at www.nelsonmandela.org.za [Accessed: 26 October 2012]
02South African History Online, ‘Dr. Neil Hudson Aggett’, [online], available at www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 26 October 2012]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2012, December 13). An inquest into the death in detention of the white trade union leader, Dr. Neil Aggett opens. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094410

South African History Online (2012) 'An inquest into the death in detention of the white trade union leader, Dr. Neil Aggett opens', South African History Online, 13 December. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094410 (Accessed: 23 July 2026).

South African History Online, An inquest into the death in detention of the white trade union leader, Dr. Neil Aggett opens [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094410, (accessed 23 July 2026).

"An inquest into the death in detention of the white trade union leader, Dr. Neil Aggett opens." South African History Online, 13 Dec. 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094410. Accessed 23 July 2026.

South African History Online. "An inquest into the death in detention of the white trade union leader, Dr. Neil Aggett opens." South African History Online. December 13, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094410.