South Africa loses another hero of freedom struggle Mlangeni

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the death of one of the icons of the country’s freedom struggle, Isithwalandwe Andrew Mlangeni.

He was 95 years old.

“A giant tree has fallen. Andrew Mlangeni, the last surviving Rivonia trialist, is no more”, Ramaphosa announced on Twitter.

” A selfless struggle veteran, he dedicated his life to fighting injustice & spent more than 20 years on Robben Island. Isithwalandwe Andrew Mlangeni, your legacy lives on”, he said.

“My thoughts are with the Mlangeni family and with all who have had the blessing of 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 & embracing of people from all walks of life.

““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,” Ramaphosa added.

Mlangeni’s death came less than a week after the death of Nelson Mandela’s daughter, Zindzi, who came to prominence after reading the letter of her dad, rejecting conditional freedom offered by the then apartheid regime of P.W. Botha.

Mlangeni was jailed for life in 1963, along with Nelson Mandela and others after the Rivonia Trial. He was released in 1989, along with Mandela.

He was born in Soweto. He joined the African National Congress in 1954 and was subsequently sent for military training in 1961.

On his return in 1963, he was arrested, after being accused of recruiting and training an armed force.

He later served as a member of parliament for the ANC from 1994 to 1999 and 2009 until 2014, when he retired.

On 26 April 2018, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Education from the Durban University of Technology in South Africa. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Law on 7 April, 2018 by Rhodes University.

He was married to June Mlangeni from 1950 until her death in 2001. The couple had four children