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Family of Steven Biko halt the sale of his postmortem report
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(5 months later)
The family of renowned South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko said it has won a court battle to stop an auction house selling a postmortem report into his 1977 death.
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason.
Biko died of a brain haemorrhage after being arrested at a police roadblock, interrogated and tortured for hours. His demise triggered an international outcry and became a key moment in the decades-long struggle against white rule.
Members of his family went to the high court on Tuesday, saying the report was national property. “The sale is disrespectful of African culture and should be stopped,” Biko’s son Nkosinathi told local radio.
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On Wednesday a lawyer for the Biko family said a judge had halted the sale until 31 January to give both parties time to negotiate or take legal action over the ownership of the document.
“(The order) prevents not just the auction but the copying, defacing, sale or use of the document in any way,” Darren Olivier said.
Westgate Walding Auctioneers has said it received the 43-page document, which includes detailed analysis of injuries to Biko’s brain, from a former secretary of the pathologist who attended the autopsy on behalf of the Biko family.
The auction house called the report “a unique document of the struggle era of great historical importance“, expecting it fetch up to 100,000 rand (£5,670).
The court and officials from the auction house were not immediately available for comment.
