South African dissident writer and poet Breyten Breytenbach dies at 85

Celebrated Afrikaans writer Breyten Breytenbach, known for anti-apartheid activism and powerful poetry, dies at 85 in Paris.

South African writer and poet Breyten Breytenbach, a staunch opponent of the former white-minority government's apartheid policy of racial oppression, has died in Paris, his family announced. He was 85.

Mr. Breytenbach was a celebrated wordsmith, a leading voice in literature in Afrikaans — an offshoot of Dutch that was developed by white settlers — and a fierce critic of apartheid that was imposed against the country's Black majority between 1948 and 1990.

He moved to Paris but on a clandestine trip to his home country in 1975 he was arrested on allegations that he assisted Nelson Mandela's then-outlawed African National Congress group in its sabotage campaign against the white-minority government.

He was convicted of treason and served seven years in prison. Upon his release he based himself in Paris, where he continued his anti-apartheid activism.

Mr. Breytenbach is best known for "Confessions of an Albino Terrorist," his account of his imprisonment and the events leading to it.

His work addressed themes of exile, identity and justice, his family said.

"Known for his masterful poetry collections in Afrikaans, as well as autobiographical works such as 'The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist' and 'A Season in Paradise', he fearlessly addressed themes of exile, identity and justice," the family said in their statement said on Sunday (November 24, 2024).