Biko’s son denies New Year’s Day assault

THE son of anti-apartheid icons Steve Biko and Mamphele Ramphele has denied assaulting a woman close to him on New Year’s Day.

Hlumelo Biko‚ who turns 40 this month‚ appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on assault charges yesterday.

He was not asked to plead and the matter was postponed to February 27 for further investigation.

The businessman‚ dressed in an open-necked shirt‚ dark jacket and jeans‚ was released on warning.

Outside court‚ his lawyer, Roy Barends, said Biko would plead not guilty.

“He vehemently denies committing any offence‚” Barends said. “We will deal with those allegations when the time arrives.”

Western Cape police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk said on Wednesday that a 27-year-old complainant had opened a case of assault on New Year’s Day.

Van Wyk said the investigating officer had met the suspect and his legal representative on Wednesday.

“The suspect was charged and warned to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court.”

Ramphele was five months’ pregnant with her son in 1977 when she learnt that Biko‚ with whom she was having an affair‚ had been killed in police custody.

Hlumelo means “the shoot of a tree” in Xhosa. – TimesLIVE