Tributes pour in after death of last Rivonia trialist
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday announced, with deep sadness, that the last remaining Rivonia trialist, Andrew Mekete Mlangeni, died overnight
“His dramatic life was a unique example of heroism and humility inhabiting the same person ... he remained a beacon of ethical leadership President Cyril Ramaphosa
Anti-apartheid stalwart Andrew Mlangeni has been described as a great thinker, a humble leader and role model who was against corruption, as tributes poured in on Wednesday.
Mlangeni, 95, died at 1 Military Hospital in Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria, on Tuesday night after being admitted a week earlier with abdominal problems.
Mlangeni served 26 years on Robben Island after being sentenced to a life term alongside other Rivonia trialists like Raymond Mhlaba, Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada in 1964.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC, DA, EFF, UDM, SACP, COPE, parliament, the Eastern
Cape legislature, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Rhodes University spoke highly of Mlangeni, describing his death as “the end of an era” as he had been the last living Rivonia trialist.
Mlangeni was awarded Isithwalandwe Seaparankwe — the highest honour in the ANC for those who have made an outstanding contribution to the liberation struggle — in 1992 and received the Presidential Order for Meritorious Service: Class 1: Gold from President Nelson Mandela in 1999.
In 2018, Mlangeni was awarded an honorary doctorate for his contribution in the struggle against apartheid by Rhodes University.
Ramaphosa called on leaders to pick up the baton and continue where Mlangeni had left off. “His 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.
“He was a champion and exemplar of the values we need to build an SA that provides dignity and opportunity for all and which takes its rightful place in the global community of nations.”
The EFF said Mlangeni’s achievements “must be greeted with heartfelt joy”. “His passing must be welcomed by all as a deserved rest for a man whose entire life was lived perfectly for the freedom for all. Above all, it must be greeted with admiration, a true standard to be emulated by all who remain behind.”
ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe described Mlangeni’s death as the falling of a big tree. “Death has robbed the people of SA of one of its finest sons who valued the freedom of his people more than his own life and personal comfort.
“The death of Ntate Mlangeni marks the end of a revolutionary life that was dedicated to the struggle for justice.”
SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande and DA interim leader John Steenhuisen both said the best way to honour Mlangeni’s memory was to root out corruption.
Nzimande said: “Mlangeni was fiercely opposed to corruption and corporate capture of the state. In memory of the gallant fighter of our struggle, the SACP will deepen its efforts to build patriotic and popular left fronts to combat corruption in defence of our democracy, and in pursuit of the national imperative of structural transformation and inclusive development.”
Quoting Mlangeni’s famous words “I did not go to prison for 26 years for people to steal from the poor”, Steenhuisen said: “He also abhorred the corruption that has infected our state and government, and maintained that Jacob Zuma should return to Robben Island if found guilty.”
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said: “I was impressed with his thinking. He was humble and it made an impression on me that he decided to stay in his original home in Soweto.”
Rivonia trialist and ANC veteran Andrew Mlangeni joined the ANC Youth League in 1951 and the ANC in 1954, according to his foundation.
In 1961 he was among the first to be sent for military training outside the country — in China. On his return in 1963, he was arrested, found guilty of sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment. Mlangeni was released in 1989 when negotiations between the ANC and the government began.
He subsequently spent 20 years in parliament and led the ANC’s integrity commission.
In 2013, in an interview with the Sunday Times, Mlangeni denounced corruption within the government, saying the Rivonia trialists did not go to prison so that ANC members could reap the rewards of freedom through self-enrichment and greed.
“Tenderism [sic] has destroyed many of our honest people,” he said.
“People want to make money quickly. That is not what we stood for. I did not go to prison for that.”
The Desmond and Leah Tutu
Foundation referenced this comment from Mlangeni, saying even after retiring in 2014 in his 90th year, “he continued to speak out against corruption, for morality and fairness within his beloved ANC and in government.”
Describing him as a principled and modest man who returned to live in his Dube, Soweto, home after his 26-year incarceration, the foundation said: “His passing sounds the last post on a courageous generation of South Africans who forfeited their freedom, careers, family lives and health so we could all be free.
“It is now for younger hands to pick up the heavy baton they carried and complete the journey to equal justice for all.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa said Mlangeni’s death “signifies the end of a generational history and places our future squarely in our hands”.
“With his passing as the last remaining Rivonia trialist, Bab’ Mlangeni has passed the baton to his compatriots to build the South Africa he fought to liberate and to reconstruct during our democratic dispensation.
“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’s office said he had attended Mlangeni’s birthday’s celebration last month in the company of former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe as well as veteran politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi, among other notable guests.
Mlangeni was awarded Isithwalandwe Seaparankwe, the highest honour from the ANC for those who have made an outstanding contribution to the liberation struggle, in 1992. In 1999 he received the Presidential Order for Meritorious Service: Class 1: Gold from former president Nelson Mandela.
Mlangeni was a keen golfer, a sport he played well into old age.
In 2002, he told the Sunday
Times he was introduced to the game in 1937 when, as a 12year-old, he earned pocket money caddying for golfers at Turf Golf Club, Johannesburg.
In 1947, after he had left school (St Peter’s Secondary in Rosettenville, where he was taught by ANC leader Oliver Tambo), Mlangeni took up the game seriously. He had played mostly at Soweto Country Club, one of the few golf courses open to “non-whites” at the time.
Earlier this year, Mlangeni attended a SA Open pro-am at the golf course.
‘Tenderism’ has destroyed many of our honest people. People want to make money quickly. That is not what we stood for. I did not go to prison for that
“Nobody ever dreamt that one day we’d play the SA Open pro-am in Soweto‚ and on a golf course belonging to the people of Soweto. When I saw this‚ I said to myself there is nothing we cannot do if we all have a common goal‚” said Mlangeni‚ echoing the words of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi after the Rugby World Cup victory.
Mlangeni spoke of the greatness of South Africa’s potential: “If we don’t work together‚ we won’t be successful. So‚ to the people who want to leave South Africa‚ I would say please learn from those who left and came back. Come back home. This country belongs to all of us who are South African. Let’s build it together.”