Kwedi Mzingisi Zilindile Mkhalipi, a stalwart of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle and former Robben Island prisoner, has passed away at the age of 90.
Mkhalipi was a long-standing member of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) and part of their underground movement against white-minority rule. He took part in the famous 1960 anti-pass law protests in Cape Town that were met with police brutality and left 69 protesters dead.
For his activism, Mkhalipi was charged with sabotage in 1965 and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on Robben Island, which housed many prominent anti-apartheid figures like Nelson Mandela. After his release in 1985, he was immediately re-arrested under a state of emergency and deported to Transkei.
President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to Mkhalipi in an official statement, saying: “Baba Mkhalipi was a stalwart whose extended lifespan was one he dedicated to the freedom of South Africans and the betterment of our society. He made severe sacrifices as the apartheid state sought to constrain him but he was undeterred in his determination that we should be free.”
After South Africa’s transition to democracy, Mkhalipi worked as a teacher, imparting his knowledge of history, business and economics to students in Cape Town. He also served as CEO of the National Co-operatives Association of South Africa and was an Esteemed Member of the Order of Luthuli in Silver.
“He had a passion for the education and economic liberation of the oppressed and stood firm in his activism, regardless of the consequences this invited from the regime,” Ramaphosa stated. “He deserves to be honoured and remembered by us while he rests in peace.”
Mkhalipi’s passing marks the loss of another heroic figure who sacrificed decades of his life in pursuit of a democratic, non-racial South Africa. His courage and commitment to the struggle against apartheid will be enshrined in the nation’s history.
