Andrew Mlangeni, the last surviving South African anti-apartheid activist convicted with Nelson Mandela in the infamous 1963-64 Rivonia Trial, has died at 95.
This was the trial considered to have brought Mandela to global attention.
Mlangeni died after being admitted to a military hospital in the capital Pretoria on Tuesday, July 21, with an abdominal complaint.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said his death “signifies the end of a generational history and places our future squarely in our hands.”
Announcing his death, President Ramaphosa tweeted;
The passing of Andrew Mekete Mlangeni signifies the end of a generational history and places our future squarely in our hands. Until recently, we were able to sit at Bab’ Mlangeni’s feet and draw on his wealth of wisdom and his unfailing commitment to a better life for all. pic.twitter.com/dZkFLPzh9f
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 #StaySafe (@CyrilRamaphosa) July 22, 2020
Bab’ Mlangeni’s dramatic life was a unique example of heroism and humility inhabiting the same person and throughout his long life he remained a beacon of ethical leadership and care for humanity in our own country and around the globe.
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 #StaySafe (@CyrilRamaphosa) July 22, 2020
With his passing as the last remaining Rivonia Trialist, Bab’ Mlangeni has indeed passed the baton to his compatriots to build the South Africa he fought to liberate and to reconstruct during our democratic dispensation.
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 #StaySafe (@CyrilRamaphosa) July 22, 2020
He was a champion and exemplar of the values we need to build a South Africa that provides dignity and opportunity for all and which takes its rightful place in the global community of nations.
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 #StaySafe (@CyrilRamaphosa) July 22, 2020
My thoughts are with the Mlangeni family and with all who have had the blessing of meeting & being touched by Bab’ Mlangeni’s passion for achieving a better society, his passion for a life that is well-rounded, adventurous, healthy & embracing of people from all walks of life.
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 #StaySafe (@CyrilRamaphosa) July 22, 2020
Mlangeni spent 27 years in prison on Cape Town’s Robben Island before his release in 1989 including late Mandela, Dennis Goldberg, Walter Sisulu and other activists who were sentenced for planning to overthrow the apartheid government.
The Island is famous for being a maximum security prison for political prisoners of South Africa‘s apartheid regime.
After his release, Mlangeni served as a lawmaker in South Africa’s first democratic parliament from 1994.
May his soul Rest In Peace.
