Struggle activist Max Coleman dies at 95
The former human rights commissioner and anti-apartheid activist Dr Max Coleman has died, his family has confirmed.
“We regret to inform you that Dr Max Coleman passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 16 2022, aged 95.
“He is mourned and will be forever missed by his loving wife Audrey, sons Brian, Neil, Keith and Colin, their partners and children,” the family said.
There will be a private funeral service followed by a public memorial to celebrate his life. Details will be announced in due course.
Coleman and his wife were founding members of the Detainees Parents Support Committee formed in the 1980s to provide food, clothing and legal assistance to detainees under apartheid.
In November last year the couple received the Order of Luthuli in Silver conferred by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
They acknowledged the honour by penning an open letter denouncing the corruption that had become endemic in SA.
“State capture and thuggery has corrupted not only the state, but the minds and soul of the ANC. It has attempted to steal the freedom, vision and hopes of the nation. It cannot be allowed to succeed. The ANC must rid itself of corrupt elements. The democratic state must be restored to its historic duty to put South Africans first,” they wrote.
“We back President Ramaphosa’s efforts to cleanse the ANC. We back his effort to modernise the state. But we also urge him to do more: To mobilise the state’s resources in support of those living in poverty, give the unemployed hope, fix broken communities, rid them of gangsters and criminals, fix the schools and hospitals, and get the economy growing in a way which benefits all South Africans.
“Yesterday, we fought for freedom from oppression. Today we urge, for the benefit of future generations, that SA unites behind a common programme of economic reconstruction, social renewal, and non-racialism. We call on all patriots to defend democracy and development.”
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