Johannesburg - President Cyril Ramaphosa said Denis Goldberg’s death was a sad movement for the country.
Goldberg died on Wednesday at the age of 87 at his home in Cape Town. He was one of the youngest individuals to be sentenced to life in prison for treason during the Rivonia trial in 1964.
Goldberg was sentenced along with other activists including Nelson Mandela. He spent 22 years in prison.
“This is a sad moment for our nation and a moment for all of us to appreciate Denis Goldberg’s brave dedication to our Struggle and his lifelong activism in the interest of – and in the physical presence of - poor and vulnerable communities around our country.
“His first experience of prison was alongside his mother, who had been detained for four months, but such experiences failed to intimidate him; instead, it fuelled his determination that the liberation movement should use all strategies at its disposal, including armed resistance, to end apartheid,” the president said in a statement on Thursday.
Ramaphosa said Goldberg’s commitment to ethical leadership and his contribution to the Struggle would not be forgotten.
“His commitment to ethical leadership was unflinching, and even during his advanced age he formed part of the movement of veterans of the Struggle calling for a reassertion of the moral centre of society. He dedicated his life to achieving the better life we enjoy today, and his revolutionary contribution reinforced the non-racial character of our Struggle and of our democratic dispensation.
“We will hold him in our thoughts and prayers as we say farewell at a time when we are not allowed to gather in numbers to say our goodbyes.”