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Rivonia Trialist Denis Goldberg has died, his son David has confirmed to News24.
He was 87.
David, who is based in London, said he received the news of his father's passing around midnight on Thursday.
Goldberg was one of 10 people who faced charges of treason in 1963 after a raid on Liliesleaf Farm. He was found guilty on charges, including conspiracy and sabotage, during the infamous Rivonia Trial held at the Palace of Justice in Pretoria from October 1963 to June 1964.
The only living Rivonia Trialist is Andrew Mlangeni.
The ANC in the Western Cape also mourned with his family.
"This morning the Province and the country received the sad news of the passing of Comrade Denis Goldberg, a man we will rightfully remember as one of the first bearers of the heavy yoke of freedom, among the heroes and heroines whose freedom could never be separated from that of the people," a statement said on Thursday.
Goldberg was arrested in 1963 and was sentenced at the Rivonia Trial along with former president Nelson Mandela and other leaders of the anti-apartheid struggle to life imprisonment, the party recounted. He was imprisoned for 22 years in Pretoria Central Prison until he was released in 1985.
"After 22 years in prison, he gave even more of himself, with even greater vigor and determination to the complete liberation of our people. In the latter years of his life he invested once more his time, energy and money on social projects through the Denis Goldberg Legacy Foundation Trust.
"Comrade Denis Goldberg was also known by even more important titles: a father, a grandfather, a family man, a mentor, and above all, a friend."
According to the provincial ANC, Goldberg celebrated the simple things in life and always found reasons to be grateful.
He "loathed those who were self serving within our movement, those who left the poor by the way side, and those who had forgotten the struggle."
"We celebrate comrade Denis's resilient spirit and ever present humor, traits that would see him through darker days, leaving a family behind, loss and tragedy that the next generations will never know but remain forever grateful."
OBIT | Denis Goldberg's life was 'the radical contradiction to the system of apartheid'
