• The National Prosecuting Authority will present new evidence about Steve Biko's death in police custody at Gqeberha High Court on Friday.

• The original 1977 inquest cleared police officers even though Biko was held naked and tortured before dying from brain injuries.

The death of anti-apartheid leader Steve Biko is back in court almost 50 years later.

The National Prosecuting Authority will reopen the case into Biko's 1977 death at Gqeberha High Court this Friday.

The move comes 48 years after he died in police custody. The justice minister approved the request made by prosecutors and supported by Biko's family.

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Prosecutor spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said they want to show new evidence to the court.

"A formal inquest was held in November 1977. The version of his captors and interrogators was that he hurt himself when he banged his head against a wall," said Tyali.

The original inquest cleared both Special Branch officers and medical staff who treated Biko. This happened even though he was held naked, shackled and tortured at Walmer Police Station in Gqeberha.

Police arrested Biko on 18 August 1977 at a roadblock near Grahamstown with his friend Peter Jones. He had broken his banning order that kept him in King Williamstown.

He spent 24 days in custody without medical care. Police then transported him naked and unconscious to Pretoria, 1,200km away. He died on 20 September 1977, aged 30.

His cause of death was brain injury, kidney failure and blood clotting. Chief magistrate MJ Prins accepted the police story that he hurt himself in a fight.

In 1997, five senior Special Branch officers admitted lying about what happened. But the Truth and Reconciliation Commission refused their amnesty application because their stories did not match.

"The NPA will continue efforts to address the atrocities of the past and help provide closure to the Biko family," Tyali said.