Griffiths Mxenge

Griffiths Mlungisi Mxenge was born on February 27, 1935, in King William's Town. Educated at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Natal, he joined the ANC Youth League during the Defiance Campaign.

Imprisoned on Robben Island for two years in 1967 for his ANC underground work, Mxenge established a landmark legal practice in Durban in 1974. He became the foremost defender of Black Consciousness and ANC political detainees, exposing police torture and deaths in detention. On November 19, 1981, he was intercepted by members of the Vlakplaas police hit squad commanded by Dirk Coetzee, stabbed repeatedly, and murdered, a crime later confessed before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.