Regime Cited in Slaying of Black Attorney

The assassination of a prominent black civil rights lawyer in Durban brought charges Friday that a right-wing death squad is murdering anti-apartheid activists with the government’s blessing.

Victoria Mxenge, 43, was gunned down by four black men late Thursday as she returned home from a political meeting, according to family members. She was one of the defense attorneys in the trial, which is to start Monday, of 16 top officials of the United Democratic Front, a coalition of anti-apartheid groups.

The slaying drew immediate accusations from the front and other groups opposed to South Africa’s apartheid policies that black political leaders are being killed by a right-wing group operating with police protection. Nine leading anti-apartheid activists have been killed or fatally injured recently in mysterious circumstances.

“In the light of the systematic campaign by the state to eliminate the United Democratic Front, this murder will be seen by many as the work of the state or its allies,” Lechesa Tsenoli, the Natal province spokesman for the front, said in Durban.

‘Death Squad’ Blamed

The outlawed African National Congress issued a statement in Lusaka, Zambia, blaming a “death squad” of the minority white government for Mxenge’s death and the killing of other black activists.

More than 1,000 students marched through Durban at noontime Friday to protest the Mxenge slaying. After bringing traffic to a halt, they were dispersed by police using dogs and clubs. Thirty-one people were arrested. It was the third march this week in Durban, which has remained calm through most of the unrest over the past year.

Mxenge’s husband, Griffiths, was stabbed to death here four years ago. His case has never been resolved, though the police have blamed political infighting within the African National Congress, with which he had been affiliated. Blacks, however, blame security forces. Griffiths Mxenge’s death set off a wave of protests and revenge attacks in the Durban area.