The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) mourns the passing of comrade Leon Levy, a giant of the liberation struggle and the trade union movement.  Comrade Leon lived a full life, one in which almost every waking moment of his impressive 96 years was spent in service of the working class, the trade union and liberation movement and in pursuit of a non-racial, democratic South Africa.  We offer his family, friends and comrades our best wishes during this difficult time.

Leon and his identical twin, Norman, were pillars of the liberation movement led by the African National Congress and made their mark in countless ways across its different formations from a young age.  Like many other families of Jewish refugees and immigrants fleeing the pogroms of Lithuania and Eastern Europe, the Levy children were raised with a deep abhorrence to antisemitism, racism and discrimination of any type.

From a young age the Levy twins became active in the cause for liberation with Leon joining the Jewish socialist movement, Hashomer Hatzair and the then Communist Party of South Africa at the young age of 17!  The young twins soon found themselves in the Congress of Democrats, then a part of the Congress Alliance.  Their activism saw them becoming key participants in the drafting of the Freedom Charter and the Congress of the People where it was adopted in Kliptown in 1955.

Leon was drawn to working-class struggles and at the age of 24 became a full-time trade unionist.  Within two years he helped form the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), COSATU’s predecessor and was elected its founding President.  A position he served with distinction for nine transformational years for the trade union movement.  It was in this capacity that he was one of the five signatories of the Freedom Charter which provides the values and vision for the Constitution of today’s democratic South Africa.

Shortly after marrying his life partner, Lorna, another indefatigable activist, Leon’s activism saw him become the first detainee without trial under the new 90 days law, albeit only being released after five months.  The Levy twins were amongst the heroic Treason Trialists.  With the banning of the liberation movement and their repeated detentions, the Levy activists went into exile in the United Kingdom where they continued to play an active role in the ANC, SACTU and the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

The Levy families returned to South Africa shortly after the 1994 democratic breakthrough.  Leon at the young age of 70 decided to apply for and became a Commissioner at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) where he spent the next 19 years fulfilling his life passion of serving workers and defending their inalienable rights. 

Norman passed away in 2021 and Lorna in November 2025.  Leon and indeed Norman and Lorna, were a formidable force for good, in the liberation and trade union movements.  They can rest knowing that they played their role with distinction and humility, never asking for anything except the opportunity to serve, never demanding anything but a better life for all.  Today’s democracy is their legacy.  It is one that South Africa’s current and future generations of leadership would do well to reflect upon and learn from.  The nation is indebted for their selfless contributions.

Hamba kahle comrade Leon Levy, qhawe lamaqhawe!

Issued by COSATU

Matthew Parks (COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator)
Mobile: 082 785 0687
Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za