Hugh Lewin (3 December 1939 – 16 January 2019) was a South African

anti-apartheid activist Several independent sectors of South African society opposed apartheid through various means, including social movements, passive resistance, and guerrilla warfare. Mass action against the ruling National Party (NP) government, coupled with So ...

and writer. He was imprisoned from 1964 to 1971 for his activities in support of the

African Resistance Movement The African Resistance Movement (ARM) was a militant anti-apartheid resistance movement, which operated in South Africa during the early and mid-1960s. It was founded in 1960, as the National Committee of Liberation (NCL), by members of South ...

, and then spent 20 years in exile, returning to South Africa in 1992. An account of his experience, ''Bandiet'' (Afrikaans: "bandit"), won the

Olive Schreiner Prize The Olive Schreiner Prize has been awarded annually since 1961 to emerging writers in the field of drama, prose, or poetry. It is named after Olive Schreiner, the South African author and activist. It rewards promising novice work, by writers who ...

in 2003.

Early life

Lewin was born in

Lydenburg Lydenburg, also known as Mashishing, is a town in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, on the Mpumalanga highveld, South Africa. It is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the Lepelle River at the summit of the Long Tom Pass. It h ...

, then in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

. His parents were

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

missionaries, William and Muriel (née Paynter). His father, William, was the brother of Francis Lewi

captain of the HMS Veronica (1915), HMS Veronica, (and great grandfather to John Rees-Evans). In London in the 1970s, Lewin discovered he had maternal Jewish ancestry, but he was not a practising Jew. He was educated at

Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...

and then became a journalist at the ''

Natal Witness ''The Witness'' (previously ''The Natal Witness'') is a daily newspaper published in Pietermaritzburg. It mainly serves readers in Pietermaritzburg, Durban and the inland areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is the oldest continuously p ...

'' in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

, also writing for ''

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

'' magazine and '' Golden City Post'' in Johannesburg.

Anti-apartheid activism

He joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in 1959. Hain, Peter (21 January 2019)
"Hugh Lewin obituary"
''The Guardian''. Lewin was an anti-apartheid activist, and was imprisoned for seven years from July 1964 for his activities in support of the

. Evidence was given against him by his friends and fellow activists Adrian Leftwich (who had been best man at Lewin's wedding) and John Lloyd. After serving the full seven-year prison sentence in

Pretoria Central Prison Pretoria Central Prison, renamed Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area by former President Jacob Zuma on 13 April 2013 and sometimes referred to as Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Services is a large prison in central Pretoria, within the City of Tshwane ...

, he was given a "permanent departure permit" and left South Africa in 1971.

Exile

Lewin lived for 10 years each in London and Zimbabwe. In London, he was an information officer for the International Defence and Aid Fund, and also worked as journalist for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Moving to newly independent Zimbabwe in 1981, he was a founding member of the Dambudzo Marechera Trust.

Return to South Africa

He returned to South Africa in 1992, amid the

negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa The History of South Africa in the apartheid era, apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new Interim Constitu ...

. He became of director of the

Institute for the Advancement of Journalism An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

. He co-founded Baobab Press with

Irene Staunton Irene Staunton is a Zimbabwean publisher, editor, researcher and writer, who has worked in literature and the arts since the 1970s, both in the UK and Zimbabwe. She is co-founder and publisher of Weaver Press in Harare, having previously co-founde ...

.Bookworm (22 June 2015)
"The Patriot and expatriots"
''The Standard'' (Zimbabwe). He worked for the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state ac ...

as a member of its Human Rights Violations Committee. He had kept a secret record of his experiences in prison on the pages of a Bible, and published ''Bandiet: Seven Years in a South African Prison'' in London in 1974 (the title ''Bandiet'' being Afrikaans for "bandit"). He also wrote the "Jafta" series of books for children and young adults. After being banned for many years, his 1974 prison memoir was republished in South Africa with new material in 2002, as ''Bandiet: Out of Jail'', illustrated by

Harold Strachan Robert Harold Lundie "Jock" Strachan (1 December 1925 – 7 February 2020) was a white South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. He flew for the South African Air Force during the Second World War, trained as an artist, then became Umkhon ...

. It won the 2003

, and ''Stones against the Mirror'' won the 2011 ''Sunday Times''

Alan Paton Award The ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Awards are awarded annually to South African writers by the South African weekly newspaper the ''Sunday Times''. They comprise the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Award for Non-fiction and the ''Sunday Times'' ...

Private life

He married Pat Davidson, a solicitor. They had two daughters, Thandi and Tessa. They later divorced, and his partner for many years was Fiona Lloyd. He suffered with

Lewy body dementia Lewy body dementia (LBD) is an umbrella term for two similar and common subtypes of dementia: dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Both are characterized by changes in thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. The ...

in his later years. He died in

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewin, Hugh 1939 births 2019 deaths Jewish South African anti-apartheid activists South African anti-apartheid activists South African writers White South African anti-apartheid activists South African prisoners and detainees South African people of Polish-Jewish descent Liberal Party of South Africa politicians