Imprisoned S. Africa Union Organizer Declared Brain Dead

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A black union organizer detained without charge for 26 months has been declared brain dead after collapsing in his prison cell, authorities and union officials said Thursday.

Alfred Makeleng had a “mass of water on the brain” and was on a life-support system, according to the Congress of South African Trade Unions. He was not expected to live more than a day.

Police said that Makeleng, 27, had complained of repeated headaches and was treated by doctors at the Nylstroom Prison near the northern town of Pietersburg.

His condition “suddenly deteriorated” Tuesday, and he was taken first to a local hospital and then airlifted to Hillbrow Hospital in Johannesburg.

Makeleng has served as an organizer for the South African Allied Workers Union and also worked as a publicity secretary for the United Democratic Front, the country’s largest anti-apartheid coalition.

He was detained June 12, 1986. He has never been charged with a crime and has not been questioned by police in more than a year, said his attorney, Nicholas Hayson.

“Our lawyers are investigating the full circumstances and we demand a full explanation from prison authorities and security police,” the congress said.