Steve Biko

In 1959, the Soviet Union launched its Luna 2 space probe, which made a crash landing on the moon.

In 1962, in a speech at Rice University in Houston, President John F. Kennedy reaffirmed his support for the manned space program, declaring, "...we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." In 1977, South African black student leader and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, 30, died while in police custody, triggering an international outcry.

In 1994, truck driver Frank Eugene Corder piloted a stolen single-engine Cessna airplane into restricted airspace in Washington, D.C., and crashed it into the South Lawn of the White House.

He died in the crash.

Well, let's wrap up, uh, with an update on what's happening with the Steve Biko inquest.

It's now been halted, um, following an application by Steve Biko's family.

Uh, the Biko family spokesperson, Nkosinathi, Nkosinathi Biko, joining us now.

Nkosinathi, good afternoon to you.

So, um, we have, uh, right away gone on to try and create a data room for the investigation team and to get them to fill the gaps and to get all the legal teams, including the prosecution, to be ready to conduct-

Mm-hmm

... an inquest worthy of an account that we require for this nation on the matter of Steve Biko.

Are you confident that will ultimately happen, Nkosinathi?

Uh, it means a lot to the family because, uh, the inquest of this nature require a restorative justice, uh, which was lacking in this process that the judge was undertaking.

Because if you see a restorative, uh, uh, justice in the context of legal inquest requires the truth, the revelation of the truth, the participation, full participation of the family, the accountability, the dignity, the recog- the recognition of the harm that was visited to, not only to Mr. Biko and to the family, South Africans, and the international community by those who are the suspects in this matter.

And we believe that the, the restoration of the victim's confidence in the process, in the justice system is paramount, and that was all lacking, uh, in this inquest.

Because you could see that when the judge was hellbent in proceeding with the inquest, despite the fact that the family was not prepared and to cross-examine the witnesses, and, uh, it was not going to serve the effective, uh, process that will yield positive results for the family.

No, the documentation is not going to take too much long.

We have already started the process.

Uh, and the-- also with the assistance of the Biko Foundation.

Everyone is working.