Anti-apartheid activist Andrew Mlangeni
Photo by: Reuters
Anti-apartheid struggle icon and the last surviving Rivonia trialist Andrew Mlangeni has died at age 95.
Mlangeni was admitted to hospital on Tuesday evening with abdominal pains.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement on Wednesday that Mlangeni’s passing signifies the end of a generational history, leaving the future to the next generation.
“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. 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,” said Ramaphosa.
He passed on his condolences to the Mlangeni family and noted that Mlangeni was an example of the values needed to build South Africa into a country that provided dignity and opportunity to its people.
In 1992 Mlangeni was awarded Isithwalandwe Seaparankwe – the highest honour by the African National Congress for those who have made an outstanding contribution to the liberation struggle – and in 1999 the Presidential Order for Meritorious Service: Class 1: Gold from former President Nelson Mandela.
“My thoughts are with the Mlangeni Family today and with all who have had the blessing of meeting and being touched by Bab’ Mlangeni’s passion for achieving a better society as well as his passion for a life that is well-rounded, adventurous, healthy and embracing of people from all walks of life,” said Ramaphosa.