Andrew Mlangeni obituary

Defendant alongside Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia trial which brought apartheid to the attention of the world

Andrew Mlangeni, who has died aged 95, was the last surviving defendant of the Rivonia trial at the end of which he, Nelson Mandela and seven others were sentenced in 1964 to life in prison for conspiring to overthrow the apartheid regime in South Africa by force. On trial for their lives, the 10 defendants, six black, three white and one Indian, decided to turn the trial into a political one, putting apartheid in the dock of world opinion.

Their decisions not to deny their role in the campaign of sabotage organised by the ANC's armed wing, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK"), Spear of the Nation, and not to expose Mandela to cross-examination in the witness box - so that his speech from the dock would be a platform for an uninterrupted condemnation of apartheid - made death sentences, which their lawyers advised were likely, even more probable.