‘Struggle’ activist and political prisoner Norman Levy, who died in Cape Town yesterday at the age of 92, was one of the last surviving veterans of the Congress movement, an alliance of anti-apartheid organisations which in the immediate post-World War years laid the foundations for South Africa’s transition to democracy. Born in Johannesburg in 1929 Levy, together with his twin brother Leon, became involved in left-wing political activities at an early age. For their part in organising the 1955 Congress of the People, both were among the 156 activists who were arrested and charged with treason at the end of 1956. Charges were dropped against Norman in early 1958; by contrast, Leon was one of 31 activists tried and eventually acquitted several years later. During the so-called ‘Braam Fischer’ trial the following decade, Levy was among those found guilty under the Suppression of Communism Act, and was sentenced to three years imprisonment. After his release, he joined his brother in exile in London. Both brothers returned to South Africa following the unbanning of the ANC and SA Communist Party in February 1990, settling in Cape Town. Norman, a teacher by profession, later wrote about his days in the anti-apartheid struggle in his book The Final Prize (2014), which in addition to its autobiographical elements was a substantial history of the Apartheid system and resistance to it.
