PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has paid a moving tribute to struggle stalwart Andrew Mlangeni, lauding him for his unparalleled bravery, empathy, humility and being principled.
Mlangeni, the last surviving Rivonia trialist following the death of Dennis Goldberg in April, turned 95 on Saturday.
Mlangeni was honoured during a webinar, which also featured former presidents, Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, his family, members of his executive and leaders of political parties.
“Today we pay tribute to a man whose life has been rich, but not in the material sense, rewarding, but not with title or position, and fulfilling, but never blighted by arrogance or conceit,” said Ramaphosa.
“You are a national treasure, and we are thankful for your continuous presence in our public life and in the life of the ANC as a mentor, as a guide and, importantly, as a critic.”
Ramaphosa said 26 years into democracy the ANC government had still not met the people’s aspiration of a better life for all, a promise made in 1994.
He said it pained Mlangeni deeply to witness acts that still infringe on the dignity of others, such as corruption, inequalities and abject poverty.
“I know that seeing our children in mud schools, seeing men and women collecting water from dirty rivers, and seeing pensioners sleeping outside pension pay-points, have aggrieved him greatly. And he has not hesitated to speak out when necessary.”
After he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, Mlangeni spent nearly three decades on Robben Island alongside the late president Nelson Mandela.
(Compiled by Inside Politics staff)
