Andrew Mlangeni dead – South African anti-apartheid icon jailed alongside Nelson Mandela passes away at 95

SOUTH African anti-apartheid icon Andrew Mlangeni, who was jailed alongside Nelson Mandela, has died at the age of 95.

Mlangeni, who spent 26 years in jail, had been admitted to hospital following an abdominal complaint, government officials said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who fought with Mlangeni for racial equality, described him as a "beacon of ethical leadership and care for humanity" whose death marked the end of a generation of history.

He said: "With his passing… Mlangeni has indeed passed the baton to his compatriots to build the South Africa he fought to liberate and to reconstruct."

Mlangeni's "dramatic life was a unique example of heroism and humility inhabiting the same person," Ramaphosa said.

The human rights activist, who was born in 1925, joined the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1951 and was later sent abroad for military training.

On his return in 1963, he was arrested and stood trial alongside seven others including Mandela in what became known as the Rivonia trial, named after the Johannesburg suburb where some of them were detained.

Mlangeni was sentenced to life imprisonment and sent with Mandela to Robben Island prison, the main jail used at the time for Black male anti-apartheid prisoners.

After his release, he served as a member of parliament and lived in the township of Soweto, outside Johannesburg, until his death.

More to follow…

For the latest news on this story keep checking back at Sun Online.

Thesun.co.uk is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.

Download our fantastic, new and improved free App for the best ever Sun Online experience. For iPhone click here, for Android click here. 

Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.

Source: Read Full Article