Steve Hayes
2016-06-22 11:34:11 UTC
Struggle hero Vigne dies
by Denver Kisting
Randolph Vigne
RANDOLPH Vigne, a widely-respected anti-apartheid hero, 'was more than
a brother' to many Namibians, National Assembly Speaker Peter
Katjavivi said yesterday.
Vigne passed away on Sunday in Canterbury, England, only three weeks
before his 88th birthday.
Katjavivi said Vigne “was a dear friend and very close to me and my
family. His death is a loss [as he] touched many of us”.
Regarding Vigne's role in the liberation struggle, he said: “He was a
firm and dependable rock in the anti-apartheid struggle.”
Katjavivi, who crossed paths with Vigne in England while the Speaker
was the Swapo representative in London, met Vigne in the Tanzanian
capital Dar es Salaam many years ago.
Benjamin Vigne, one of Vigne's four grandchildren, yesterday told The
Namibian: “I remember him as a very amazing, incredible person. He was
the most humble person I met.”
He emphasised that Vigne, father of Benjamin's dad Piers and a
daughter Lucy, “was genuine and sincere in his actions and politics.
He stood up for what he believed in, and was very brave.”
Vigne was born in Kimberley in South Africa's Northern Cape province
as the great-grandson of an Irish Huguenot settler.
In 1959, he visited the then-South West Africa at the request of
Swapo's representative in Cape Town.
Two years later, in 1961, the veteran assisted former South African
president Nelson Mandela to organise a national strike in Cape Town.
Furthermore, he served as a member of the National Committee for
Liberation between 1961 and 1964. This committee was later renamed the
African Resistance Movement.
By virtue of his political involvement, Vigne regularly crossed swords
with the apartheid government. As a result, he was banned under the
Suppression of Communism Act in 1963.
The following year, Vigne fled from South Africa and sought asylum in
the United Kingdom after the activities of the African Resistance
Movement, which had embarked on acts of sabotage against the National
Party government, had been exposed.
Vigne was a founding member of Friends of Namibia - later renamed as
the Namibia Support Committee - in the United Kingdom in 1969. He also
joined the Anti-Apartheid Movement in London as a national committee
member in 1965.
In 2010, South African president Jacob Zuma bestowed on him the South
African Order of Luthuli in Silver.
Vigne was a leading member of the non-racial Liberal Party in South
Africa before he left the country.
Writer Alan Paton, who was the leader of the party, described Vigne in
his 1988 autobiography, 'Journey Continued', as someone who possessed
a strong and independent personality, and who was “an opponent of
unusual calibre”.
Paton also wrote that Vigne was “without racial fear or prejudice, and
accepted without qualification a universal suffrage in a unitary
society”.
Vigne is understood to have been in ill-health in recent years.
He will be buried in the United Kingdom.
http://www.namibian.com.na/Struggle-hero-Vigne-dies/41984/read
by Denver Kisting
Randolph Vigne
RANDOLPH Vigne, a widely-respected anti-apartheid hero, 'was more than
a brother' to many Namibians, National Assembly Speaker Peter
Katjavivi said yesterday.
Vigne passed away on Sunday in Canterbury, England, only three weeks
before his 88th birthday.
Katjavivi said Vigne “was a dear friend and very close to me and my
family. His death is a loss [as he] touched many of us”.
Regarding Vigne's role in the liberation struggle, he said: “He was a
firm and dependable rock in the anti-apartheid struggle.”
Katjavivi, who crossed paths with Vigne in England while the Speaker
was the Swapo representative in London, met Vigne in the Tanzanian
capital Dar es Salaam many years ago.
Benjamin Vigne, one of Vigne's four grandchildren, yesterday told The
Namibian: “I remember him as a very amazing, incredible person. He was
the most humble person I met.”
He emphasised that Vigne, father of Benjamin's dad Piers and a
daughter Lucy, “was genuine and sincere in his actions and politics.
He stood up for what he believed in, and was very brave.”
Vigne was born in Kimberley in South Africa's Northern Cape province
as the great-grandson of an Irish Huguenot settler.
In 1959, he visited the then-South West Africa at the request of
Swapo's representative in Cape Town.
Two years later, in 1961, the veteran assisted former South African
president Nelson Mandela to organise a national strike in Cape Town.
Furthermore, he served as a member of the National Committee for
Liberation between 1961 and 1964. This committee was later renamed the
African Resistance Movement.
By virtue of his political involvement, Vigne regularly crossed swords
with the apartheid government. As a result, he was banned under the
Suppression of Communism Act in 1963.
The following year, Vigne fled from South Africa and sought asylum in
the United Kingdom after the activities of the African Resistance
Movement, which had embarked on acts of sabotage against the National
Party government, had been exposed.
Vigne was a founding member of Friends of Namibia - later renamed as
the Namibia Support Committee - in the United Kingdom in 1969. He also
joined the Anti-Apartheid Movement in London as a national committee
member in 1965.
In 2010, South African president Jacob Zuma bestowed on him the South
African Order of Luthuli in Silver.
Vigne was a leading member of the non-racial Liberal Party in South
Africa before he left the country.
Writer Alan Paton, who was the leader of the party, described Vigne in
his 1988 autobiography, 'Journey Continued', as someone who possessed
a strong and independent personality, and who was “an opponent of
unusual calibre”.
Paton also wrote that Vigne was “without racial fear or prejudice, and
accepted without qualification a universal suffrage in a unitary
society”.
Vigne is understood to have been in ill-health in recent years.
He will be buried in the United Kingdom.
http://www.namibian.com.na/Struggle-hero-Vigne-dies/41984/read
--
Steve Hayes
Web: http://hayesgreene.wordpress.com/
http://hayesgreene.blogspot.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/afgen/
Steve Hayes
Web: http://hayesgreene.wordpress.com/
http://hayesgreene.blogspot.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/afgen/