family
26 April 2007
President Thabo Mbeki has, on behalf of the people and Government of the
Republic of South Africa, expressed his condolences to the family of the late
Sir Raymond Hoffenberg who died in Oxford, England, on 22 April. Born in March
1923 in Port Elizabeth, Sir Raymond left South Africa on an "exit permit" in
1968 for the United Kingdom after he had been served with a banning order by
the apartheid regime the previous year. He had served as the South African
chairperson of the Defence and Aid Fund - the body which funded trials of
political activists and supported their families during periods of
incarceration, even after it was banned in 1966.
His political activities against apartheid included serving as a member of
the advisory panel of the National Union of South African Students. An
accomplished endocrinologist, medical scientist and academic, Sir Raymond
continued the fight against apartheid while in exile in the United Kingdom.
Oliver Tambo, the late President of the African National Congress, was one of
his patients in London. President Mbeki said Sir Raymond's death was a loss to
South Africa, the United Kingdom and humanity as a whole. He had stood out in
medical circles as a determined fighter for equal treatment for all South
Africans in all spheres of life and in this he had set an example for his
peers.
Sir Raymond had reached the zenith of his profession by becoming the
President of the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom. This
emphasised the huge loss to South Africa of his skills and dedication because
of the repressive actions of the apartheid regime.
For more information, please contact:
Mukoni Ratshitanga
Tel: 012 300 5436
Cell: 082 300 3447
Issued by: The Presidency
26 April 2007
Source: SAPA
