July 2019 Auction Ends Thursday, July 25th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/25/2019
Prescient letter signed by anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko regarding the death and inquest of fellow Black Consciousness Movement member Mapetla Mohapi, who died in similar circumstances as Biko. Writing on 12 January 1977 from King William's Town (where he was forbidden to leave), Biko requests permission to enter the Magistrate's Court to meet with the attorneys for Mohapi regarding his inquest, as he had died in police custody a few months earlier in August 1976. Biko would meet the same fate later in 1977 after being brutally beaten by police. Composed on Biko's personal stationery, letter reads in full, ''Re: Mohapi Inquest; / I have been asked by the attorney representing the Mohapi family in the above matter to make myself available for consultations on the 16th January with their Counsel as well as attend the inquest which has been set down for the 17th and 18th January. / Kindly grant me the necessary permission to enter the premises of the King William's Town Magistrate's Court on the relevant dates and to attend the consultations which will be held somewhere in King William's Town. I do not as yet know where exactly Mr Mxenge plans to have the consultation. / Yours Faithfully, [signed] BS Biko / B.S. Biko.'' Stamped by the Magistrate's office on 13 January 1977. Letter measures 5.75'' x 8.5''. Punch holes at left, light creasing and writing in another hand on verso. Overall very good condition. A rare letter signed by Steve Biko, even more so given the content regarding Mapetla Mohapi's death.
Steve Biko Letter Signed From 1977 -- Regarding the Death of Mapetla Mohapi Who Died in Police Custody in 1976, a Year Before Biko Met the Same Fate
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