Andrew Mlangeni

Andrew Mlangeni
Name	Andrew Mlangeni
Birth date	6 June 1925
Birth place	Ga-Mphahlele, Transvaal, South Africa
Death date	21 July 2020
Death place	Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Occupation	Politician, activist
Organization	African National Congress, Umkhonto we Sizwe
Known for	Rivonia Trial defendant, Robben Island prisoner

Andrew Mlangeni Andrew Mlangeni (6 June 1925 – 21 July 2020) was a South African political activist, African National Congress leader, and one of the defendants in the Rivonia Trial. A veteran of Umkhonto we Sizwe and a long-term prisoner on Robben Island, he later served in the post-apartheid Parliament of South Africa and remained an advocate for Truth and Reconciliation Commission processes and veterans' recognition.

Early life and education

Born in Ga-Mphahlele in the former Transvaal province, Mlangeni grew up amid rural communities that experienced the effects of Land Act dispossession and the migrant-labour system centered on Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand. He attended mission schools influenced by Methodist Church networks and later worked in industrial settings tied to Union of South Africa era labour migration, which brought him into contact with trade-union activists and members of the South African Communist Party and the African National Congress in urban centres such as Soweto and Orlando.

Anti-apartheid activism and Umkhonto we Sizwe

Mlangeni joined the African National Congress amid the mass mobilizations of the 1950s, participating in campaigns linked to the Defiance Campaign, the Congress of the People, and the adoption of the Freedom Charter at Kliptown. As repression escalated with the passage of the Suppression of Communism Act and other apartheid legislation, he became involved with Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing co-founded by Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Walter Sisulu. His activities connected him to cadres operating across Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban and to contacts in exile and in neighbouring states such as Lesotho and Swaziland.

Rivonia Trial and imprisonment

Arrested in the late 1960s during the police operations that targeted the leadership sheltering at Liliesleaf Farm near Rivonia, Mlangeni was among the defendants in the landmark Rivonia Trial alongside figures like Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, and Elias Motsoaledi. Charged under provisions of the Sabotage Act and other statutes, the trial drew international attention from organizations including the United Nations and civil society groups such as Amnesty International and the International Defence and Aid Fund. Sentenced to life imprisonment, he was transferred to Robben Island with other ANC leaders.

Robben Island and political activities during incarceration

On Robben Island, Mlangeni served a long sentence during which prisoners developed political education programs modeled on ANC and South African Communist Party frameworks, maintained links with outside movements like the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the United Kingdom, and corresponded with figures such as Bishop Desmond Tutu and exiled leaders including Oliver Tambo in Mozambique and Zambia. He worked alongside inmates from diverse backgrounds, including Nelson Mandela, Ahmed Kathrada, Walter Sisulu, and Govan Mbeki, contributing to internal governance, legal literacy campaigns, and clandestine communications with international delegations such as those from the United Nations Special Committee on Apartheid. Despite restrictions imposed by prison authorities tied to the Prisons Act and security services like the South African Police, he remained influential in preserving ANC doctrine and resistance strategies that later informed negotiations with the National Party.

Release and post-apartheid political career

Following the political shifts marked by negotiations between the ANC leadership and the National Party government, Mlangeni was released and participated in transition processes culminating in the first democratic elections organized with oversight from bodies such as the Independent Electoral Commission and observers from the Commonwealth of Nations and the European Union. He served as a member of the National Assembly of South Africa, working on issues relating to veterans' affairs, reconciliation efforts tied to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission chaired by Desmond Tutu, and memorialization linked to sites like the Robben Island Museum and the Apartheid Museum. He also engaged with international delegations from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and participated in commemorations alongside leaders including Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, and Jacob Zuma.

Personal life and legacy

Mlangeni's personal life intersected with broader networks of activists, trade-unionists, and faith leaders, maintaining relationships with figures such as Helen Joseph, Ruth First, Joe Slovo, and Anton Lembede. Honoured by state and civil organizations, he received recognition at ceremonies attended by representatives of the ANC Veterans' League and international human-rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. His legacy is preserved through archives held by institutions like the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, oral histories in the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, and exhibits at the Robben Island Museum and South African National Museum of Military History. He is remembered alongside other struggle stalwarts, and his death in Johannesburg prompted tributes from national leaders, civic organizations, trade unions such as the Congress of South African Trade Unions, and global partners including delegations from the United Nations and the European Union.

Category:1925 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Members of the African National Congress Category:South African anti-apartheid activists Category:Prisoners and detainees of South Africa