/
RSS Feed
Renowned anti-apartheid writer, poet, and artist Breyten Breytenbach has died at the age of 85, his family announced. He passed away peacefully in his sleep in Paris, with his wife, Yolande, by his side.
Breytenbach, a celebrated dissident, was described by his family as “an immense artist and militant against apartheid, who fought for a better world until the end.” Known for his profound intellect and unwavering moral compass, he earned widespread admiration, with the British satirical TV show *Spitting Image* famously calling him “the only nice South African” during apartheid’s darkest days.
A Rebel Poet with Deep Roots
Born on 16 September 1939 in the Western Cape, South Africa, Breytenbach was raised in a family of five. He attended the University of Cape Town, where he joined the *Sestigers*, a group of Afrikaans poets and writers who sought to critique the apartheid regime while celebrating the beauty of the Afrikaans language. Despite Afrikaans being associated with the oppressive government of the time, Breytenbach maintained a complex relationship with his mother tongue.
“I’d never reject Afrikaans as a language, but I reject it as part of the Afrikaner political identity,” he once said in an interview with *The New York Times*. “I no longer consider myself an Afrikaner.”
In 1960, Breytenbach went into self-imposed exile, living mostly in Europe. He worked briefly in London before settling in France, where he met his Vietnamese wife, Yolande Ngo Thi Hoang Lien. When they attempted to visit South Africa, Yolande was denied entry because of apartheid’s ban on interracial marriages.
Imprisonment and Literary Impact
In 1975, Breytenbach clandestinely returned to South Africa to support resistance groups but was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison for terrorism. While incarcerated, he continued to write, producing some of his most impactful works.
His novel *The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist* recounts his harrowing prison experience, including two years in solitary confinement. The book remains a landmark in anti-apartheid literature.
Breytenbach was released in 1982, thanks in part to the intervention of French President François Mitterrand, and subsequently became a French citizen.
A Voice for Global Justice
Breytenbach’s activism extended far beyond South Africa. He criticized injustices worldwide, including an open letter in *The Guardian* to then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, condemning the treatment of Palestinians. “Why should we look the other way when it is Israel committing crimes?” he wrote.
Although he welcomed the fall of apartheid, Breytenbach was critical of South Africa’s post-apartheid government. He accused the ruling ANC of corruption, believing it had strayed from the ideals of the liberation struggle.
A Life of Creativity
Breytenbach authored over 50 books, including poetry, novels, and essays, many of which have been translated into multiple languages. His surrealist paintings, often portraying humans and animals in captivity, were celebrated worldwide. In recognition of his contributions to art and literature, he was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, France’s highest cultural honor.
Legacy
Breytenbach is survived by his wife Yolande, his daughter Daphnée, and two grandsons.
“A rebel with a tender heart, he was part of all the struggles for human rights,” former French education minister Jack Lang wrote in tribute.
Breytenbach’s life and work leave an indelible mark on the fight for justice, freedom, and artistic expression, both in South Africa and beyond.
