On 28 July Mrs Nontsikelelo Biko, widow of Steve Biko who died of brain damage while in security police custody in September 1977, announced that the family had accepted an out-of-court offer from the State of R65,000. This was R25,000 less than the family had claimed. The State is also to pay all costs.
The settlement was accepted out of court when it became clear that through a technicality the State would be able to exclude testimony on how Biko died from the court hearing in a civil suit for damages. Mrs Biko was quoted as saying that one of the purposes of the claim had been to re-open the inquiry into criminal responsibility for her husband's death. She said:
"It was stated (at the inquest) that nobody was to blame for the fatal lesions on Steve's brain. Nobody was to blame for the vegetable-like condition that he was in when he breathed his last. Nobody was to blame for his death.
"We had hoped that the less restricted nature of a civil suit would allow more in-depth evidence to be led in regard to the circumstances surrounding Steve's death"
The new Minister of Police, Louis le Grange, denied that the settlement amounted to an admission of liability, saying that the State "in terms of the rules of the Supreme Court and without prejudice and without admission of liability" had made the offer, and the payments had been "accepted by the claimants in full settlement of their claims".
The Biko family are considering a private prosecution for murder if the State brings no charges against the security police officers who were in charge of Biko on the night he received his fatal blow to the head. Sufficient evidence emerged during the inquest to indicate the most likely culprits, and those with overall responsibility for his treatment. Despite the State's hope, expressed by Minister le Grange, that "the Biko affair is now closed", Mrs Biko said that the settlement was far from being the end of the matter.
Mrs Biko also said that her R30,000 share of the settlement would go wholly towards founding a community project in memory of Steve Biko, who was the initiator of several Black Consciousness community schemes. The other beneficiaries are her sons aged eight (R13,000) and four (R9,000) and her mother-in-law.
