South African dissident writer and poet Breyten Breytenbach dies aged 85

JOHANNESBURG (AP) – South African writer and poet Breyten Breytenbach, a staunch opponent of the former white minority government’s apartheid policies of racial oppression, has died in Paris, his family announced Sunday. He was 85.

Breytenbach was a famous wordsmith, a leading voice in literature in Afrikaans – an offshoot of Dutch developed by white settlers – and a fierce critic of the apartheid imposed on the country’s black majority between 1948 and 1990.

He moved to Paris, but on a secret trip to his homeland in 1975, he was arrested on allegations that he aided Nelson Mandela’s then-banned African National Congress group in its campaign of sabotage against the white minority government.

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

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

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

“Known for his masterful collections of poems in Afrikaans, as well as autobiographical works such as ‘The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist’ and ‘A Season in Paradise,’ he fearlessly tackled themes of exile, identity and justice,” their statement said.

Breytenbach was a poet, novelist, painter and activist whose work touched and influenced literature and art both at home and abroad, his family added.

He was born in the Western Cape province in 1939, but spent much of his life abroad.

He joined Okhela, an ideological wing of South Africa’s African National Congress, in exile, but remained deeply connected to his South African roots.

He is survived by his wife, Yolande, daughter Daphnée and two grandchildren.