Congress of the People (COPE) founder and freedom activist Mosiuoa Lekota has died at the age of 77.
IOL understands that Lekota passed away in a Johannesburg hospital in the early hours of Wednesday, following a prolonged illness.
Born in Kroonstad in the Free State, Lekota’s activism began early. He was expelled from the University of the North for his involvement in student politics and the Black Consciousness Movement.
As an organiser of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO), he was arrested and sent to Robben Island in 1974.
Released in 1983, he was again imprisoned during the 1985 Delmas Treason Trial.
Lekota later served as Free State Premier and Minister of Defence, before co-founding COPE in 2008.