By Lungile Ntimba
President Cyril Ramaphosa has described Robben Island as both a symbol of imprisonment and resistance.
During a visit to the prison as part of the build up to the ANC’s January 8 celebrations at Khayelitsha in Cape Town, Ramaphosa said that many freedom fighters were sent to prison to crush their spirits.
“Instead of breaking their spirit, their time on Robben Island strengthened their resolve to defeat apartheid and build a free, united and democratic South Africa,” Ramaphosa said on Wednesday.
His visit to Robben Island was to honour the hundreds of political prisoners detained there for many years in their fight for freedom.
Political leaders such as Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison on the island.
Ramaphosa said Robben Island became a place of revolutionary debates and learning, where young activists were armed with a political consciousness that turned them into freedom fighters.
“In this
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