Kgalema Motlanthe pays tribute to Namibian Robben Islander Andimba Toivo ya Toivo
Fellow Africans lived under the same apartheid system‚ suffered the same human rights violations and were committed to SA’s struggle for liberation, former president Kgalema Motlanthe said at the memorial service of Namibia’s Andimba Toivo ya Toivo.Ya Toivo was a Robben Island prisoner and Namibian politician. A memorial for him was held at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg on Tuesday.Ya Toivo passed away at his home in Windhoek‚ Namibia‚ on June 9. He was 92.One of the founders of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) in 1960, he was tried in SA in 1966 under the Terrorism Act with 36 others and was sentenced to a 20-year prison term in 1968. He was confined in the same prison section where Nelson Mandela was held‚ and they became friends.Ya Toivo was released in 1984 after serving 16 years of his sentence."While we are saddened by Andimba Toivo ya Toivo’s passing‚ we celebrate his life and longevity and the lessons learnt‚" Motlanthe said.He said Ya Toivo...
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