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The South African Communist Party (SACP) dips its red flag in tribute to our liberation struggle stalwart, Comrade Leon Levy, 96, who breathed his last today.

The SACP conveys its message of heartfelt condolences to his family, the South African liberation movement and the entire working class whom he served diligently.

Comrade Leon together with his twin brother, Norman, who passed away in July 2021, served  the people of South Africa in the struggle against apartheid and continued his activism post our 1994 democratic breakthrough.

Born in Johannesburg in 1929 to Mary and Mark Levy, immigrants from Lithuania, the Levy brothers dedicated their lives to fighting against colonial and apartheid rule in South Africa. They were born into a family that was conscious of the evils of racism as per their experience in Europe and thus from a young age became actively involved in the struggle. They joined and participated in the Young Communist League of South Africa and by the age of 17 were actively participating in the SACP, then called the Communist Party of South Africa.

As the liberation struggle intensified, especially with the Communist Party’s influence, the apartheid regime was forced to revert to another reactionary step by passing the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950 and thereafter banned the SACP, the first organisation to be banned under the anti-communism law.

Consequently, the regime’s security police arrested the twin brothers in December 1956 and detained them at the Old Fort in Johannesburg together with 154 others. They were charged with high treason but eventually acquitted along with 61 others in December the following year.

Becoming an active trade unionist by the age of 24, in 1955 Comrade Leon went on to help form and lead the first non-racial trade union federation in South Africa, the South African Congress of Trade Unions (Sactu) – the predecessor of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) – wherein he was elected as its founding president. He served in that position with distinction for nine years, helping to unite and strengthen the trade union movement.

As Sactu leader, Comrade Leon was among the organisers and signatories of the Congress of the People which adopted the Freedom Charter in Kliptown, Soweto, on 26 June 1955. The five other signatories to the Freedom Charter were African National Congress President Chief Albert Luthuli; Jimmy La Guma of the South African Coloured People's Congress; Monty Naicker of the Natal Indian Congress; and Pieter Beyleveld of the Congress of Democrats.

Comrade Leon was one of a large group of activists arrested after the declaration of the state of emergency in 1960. In 1962 the apartheid regime extended his banning orders to the prohibition of the publication of his writings and statements, and his presence in any African township, compound or hostel.

Following his arrest under the 90-days without trial law, subjecting him even to a period of solitary confinement and myriad other forms of persecution, the apartheid regime then forced Comrade Leon to go into exile in the UK in 1963. In the UK, he continued to contribute to the struggle against apartheid, participating in the anti-apartheid movement.

Upon his return to South Africa, he contributed to Cosatu’s submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on business and apartheid. He has published several works relating to trade unions and labour relations issues.

In paying tribute to Comrade Leon, the SACP calls for the unity of the working class in the fight against capitalism, in the pursuit of socialism. In this context, the SACP will continue to wage a relentless struggle against neoliberal policies and also fight against imperialism.

To this end, the SACP is taking all practical steps to unite the working class for socialism, including the convocation of the Conference of the Left, towards building a left popular front to confront the deep-rooted problems faced by the working class in the current juncture.

Issued by the South African Communist Party