Levy passed away at the age of 96 in Cape Town.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the death of Leon Levy, the last surviving signatory of the Freedom Charter and Accused Number Four in the 1956 Treason Trial, as a “sad moment” for South Africa.
Levy passed away at the age of 96 in Cape Town on Saturday. His identical twin, Norman, died on 4 July 2021.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the president had expressed his “deep sadness” over Levy’s passing.
“President Ramaphosa offers his deep sympathy to the family and friends of Mr Levy, who took on numerous roles in the struggle alongside his equally committed identical twin brother, Norman, who passed away in July 2021.”
‘A sad moment for us as fellow human beings’
President Ramaphosa said Levy’s passing leaves a void in the country’s history.
“The passing of Leon Levy is a sad moment for us as fellow human beings. It is particularly sad for us as citizens of South Africa who attained freedom from apartheid through the hard and sacrificial activism of Leon Levy and those who were in the trenches with him, including his brother, Norman.
“As we mark 70 years since the Treason Trial of 1956, we are obliged to pay tribute to the cohort of leaders and other activists who fought the apartheid state based on their belief in the inherent equality and dignity of all people,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa added that Levy was part of a generation whose contributions to a better life and a better world for all South Africans and humanity globally must never be forgotten or dishonoured.
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Six Freedom Charter signatories
Levy, whose parents had emigrated from Lithuania, joined the Communist Party of South Africa when he was a teenager and became a trade unionist at 24, two years before he was elected president of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (Cosatu), which he had helped to establish.
He was among the organisers of the Congress of the People, which adopted the Freedom Charter on 26 June 1955.
The six Freedom Charter signatories were ANC President Chief Albert Luthuli; Jimmy La Guma of the South African Coloured People’s Congress; Monty Naicker of the Natal Indian Congress; Pieter Beyleveld of the Congress of Democrats; and Levy.
Levy brothers arrest
In December 1956, security police arrested the Levy brothers as part of a crackdown on liberation movement leaders and charged the activists with high treason, which carried the death penalty as a possible sentence.
While Norman was discharged later, Leon remained on trial until his acquittal in 1961.
The brothers remained politically active, with Norman serving three years after being convicted under the Suppression of Communism Act.
Leon was subjected to two periods of detention, after which he went into exile in England, where Norman joined him after being released from prison.
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