Denis Goldberg, one of the Rivonia treason trialists, has died at the age of 87.
His family announced that he had died on Wednesday. He had been suffering from lung cancer and a heart condition.
In 1957 Goldberg had joined the South African Communist Party, He subsequently became a member of the Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) in the early 1960s, before being arrested in 1963 for planning to overthrow the government of the time. In 1964 he was, along with such anti-apartheid luminaries such as Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, and Ahmed Kathrada, found guilty and sentenced to prison.
Goldberg spent 22 years in prison. After his release in the 1980s he moved to London before returning to South Africa in 2002.
Last year the ANC had awarded Goldberg its highest honour, the Isitwalandwe Medal.
According to the Mail & Guardian, Archbishop Desmond Tutu paid tribute to him and said: ‘Denis Goldberg was a mensch, a human being of the highest integrity and honour who eschewed personal aggrandisement and consumptiveness. His lifetime contribution to South Africa and its people was second to none. His passing conducted with customary courage and grace feels as if the nation has lost part of its soul.’
Only one other Rivonia treason trialist, Andrew Mlangeni, is still alive.