COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota after the Constitutional Court judgement on the appointment of Shaun Abrahams as National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) on August 13, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga ruled that Abraham’s appointment by former president Jacob Zuma was invalid and that he must vacate the office at the National Prosecuting Authority immediately. (Photo: Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Deaan Vivier)
South Africa is mourning the death of veteran politician and former freedom fighter Mosiuoa Lekota, who has died at the age of 77 after a period of illness.
His party, Congress of the People (Cope), confirmed his passing in a statement. Lekota had stepped back from public life last August due to health problems.
Lekota was a key figure in South Africa’s fight against apartheid. In 1974, he was arrested under the country’s Terrorism Act and later sent to Robben Island, where he was imprisoned alongside anti-apartheid leaders, including Nelson Mandela.
He spent years behind bars for opposing the racist system that denied basic rights to the country’s Black majority. After his release, he returned to activism and became a leader in the United Democratic Front, a broad coalition of groups resisting white minority rule.
In the 1980s, he was charged again in what became known as the Delmas Treason Trial. Although he and others were convicted, the sentences were later overturned on appeal.
After South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, Lekota moved into government. He became the first premier of the Free State province in the new democratic era. He later served as national chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) for a decade.
From 1998 to 2008, he led the country’s defence ministry, making him one of South Africa’s longest-serving cabinet ministers.
President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute, calling him a “freedom fighter and a servant of the people.”
“His life was one of resilience, courage, and steadfast belief in justice,” Ramaphosa said.
In 2008, Lekota left the ANC after the party removed then President Thabo Mbeki from office. Lekota said he was unhappy with the direction of the party and raised concerns about corruption among some leaders.
That same year, he co-founded Cope with former ANC leader Mbhazima Shilowa. The new party won 30 seats in parliament in the 2009 general election, becoming a strong opposition voice at the time.
However, internal leadership struggles weakened the party in later years. By the 2024 elections, Cope failed to win enough votes to return to parliament.
Lekota, known by the nickname “Terror” for his football skills in his youth, spent most of his life in public service. Friends and colleagues describe him as firm in his beliefs and deeply committed to justice.
Former finance minister Trevor Manuel, who worked with Lekota in the anti-apartheid movement, called him an “amazing human being.”
“His commitment was deep, and I think it’s that and the entire personality that kept a number of us close to him,” Manuel said on local radio.
Manuel added that he had seen Lekota in intensive care two weeks ago and said he had fought a “brave and long battle”.