A locomotive expert told the reopened inquest into the death of ANC president-general Chief Albert Luthuli on Wednesday that if Luthuli was hit by a train, his body would be completely dismantled and he would have died instantly at the scene.
Lesley Charles Labuschagne dismissed evidence by Stephanus Lategan, who was driving the train on the day Luthuli was allegedly hit in 1967. Labuschagne said when a person was struck by a train driving at 40km/h, that person would die instantly. He told the inquest in the Pietermaritzburg high court that it was too good to be true that Luthuli was hit by a train.
Labuschagne said the evidence of Lategan and that of a fireman who was travelling with him on the day of the alleged incident was contradictory.
“In his evidence, Lategan apparently told his train staff that he had hit someone with a train. However, the fireman said Lategan told them that he suspected they have hit someone, the two statements are contradictory,” said Labuschagne.
He said there was evidence by Lategan that he saw someone walking towards the train on a bridge.
“Lategan also said the man did not run away when he saw the train. That evidence is not likely. No-one cannot run away when a moving train approaches,” said Labuschagne.
Labuschagne said it was not true that Lategan sounded a warning whistle. “The warning whistle was not hit, if it was hit Luthuli was going to run away,” he said.
Labuschagne said as train drivers, they were taught to always hoot when they approached train platforms. He said his findings were that Lategan didn't do so.
He said another piece of evidence that left a lot to be desired was that the team disembarked from the train when they allegedly suspected they may have hit someone. Train drivers are not allowed to leave a train unattended for safety reasons, he said.
“They also said they moved Luthuli to a safer place after they hit him. That is also not allowed, because you may try to move a person and subsequently become their cause of death. You leave that to trained medical practitioners,” said Labuschagne.
Labuschagne said it was also a lie that the train struck Luthuli on his shoulder as this would have resulted in his arm being severed from his body.
The inquest continues.
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