Soli Philander, Cape Town's versatile actor, comedian, and passionate activist, has died from cancer. He bravely fought for human rights, fearlessly voicing his views on progressive politics and social justice, leaving an indelible mark.

One of South Africa's most versatile actors, comedians and activists, Soli Philander, died at the age of 65 in Cape Town from cancer on Wednesday evening, 4 March. Philander moved effortlessly between the Afrikaans, English and AfriKaaps worlds, where his authentic and warm style of acting endeared him to mixed audiences.

He was also often misunderstood and vilified for his honest views on diverse human rights topics, ranging from progressive politics and gender-based violence to affordable housing for disadvantaged communities, and much more.

Friends believe that when he publicly identified as non-binary, some of his work dried up. Philander, much like in the theatre of ancient Greece amid the uproarious laughter drawn forth by the comic's jests, concealed a shadow of pathos.

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Soli Philander, born Silamour Philander in January 1961 at Somerset Hospital in Cape Town, arrived in the world in the shadow of a great historical lie. The apartheid state had decreed that a man of his complexion, his language and his neighbourhood occupied a category between things: not white, not black, but coloured, a classification designed less to describe than to diminish. Philander spent his career proving it wrong.

He grew up in Elsiesrivier, a working-class township...