A Life Remembered
Remembering Terry Bell
12 September 1942 — 25 March 2026
Husband · Father · Grandfather · Journalist · Educator · Author
About Terry Bell
A life in service of truth, labour, and justice.
Terry Bell lived a life of courage, principle and deep care for others. He will be remembered not only for his work as a journalist, writer and educator, but also for the life he built with Barbara Bell, his family, his friends, his readers and the many people whose lives he touched.
Across decades of public life, Terry remained fiercely independent, thoughtful and humane. He stood for truth, justice, learning and dignity, and he is remembered with love.
Winner of the Nat Nakasa Award for courageous journalism.
Author of Unfinished Business: South Africa, Apartheid and Truth, A Hat, a Kayak and Dreams of Dar, and several other works.
Worker Journalist
For decades, Terry Bell tracked the rise and fall of the South African labour movement through his widely-read Inside Labour column — published in Business Report, City Press, Fin24, and GroundUp. He brought rigour, independence, and deep solidarity to every story about working people.
Trade Unionist
Bell was a tireless supporter of organised labour. He campaigned for the release of NUMSA general secretary Moses Mayekiso from an apartheid jail, documented the work of COSATU and its affiliates, and scrutinised union leadership with the same critical eye he turned on capital.
Struggle Stalwart
Detained under the apartheid 90-day law in 1964, Terry Bell went into exile and spent nearly 27 years fighting the regime from abroad — in Zambia, the United Kingdom, Tanzania, and New Zealand, where he co-founded what became, per capita, the world's largest anti-apartheid movement.
Activist
Whether holding a placard for press freedom, collecting signatures against VAT on books, or writing in solidarity with the people of Palestine, Bell never stood on the sideline. He remained, in the words of colleagues, "unashamedly a man of the left" who challenged corruption and injustice without exception.
Author & Public Intellectual
His landmark work Unfinished Business: South Africa, Apartheid and Truth (co-written with Dumisa Ntsebeza) exposed how corporations aided apartheid, triggering international legal claims. He authored several books and maintained his personal blog until six days before his death on 25 March 2026.
Memorial Service
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Service Information
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A private committal was held in accordance with Terry's wishes. He donated his body to medical science.
Get DirectionsRemembering together
We continue to remember Terry Bell with love, respect and gratitude. Memorial details will be communicated on this page soon. In the meantime, please share a memory or tribute using the Public Tributes section below.
Public Tributes
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Submissions are reviewed by the family before publication
Recent Tributes
Moderation enabledTerry carried a kindness that made people feel instantly welcome. He listened as carefully as he wrote. May his memory continue to bring comfort to all who loved him.
A thoughtful man with a steady presence and a sharp, honest mind. He will be remembered for his warmth, his humour, and his fierce refusal to let injustice go unexamined.
Sending love and strength to the Bell family. Terry's life touched many people in quiet, lasting ways. His voice will be missed at every gathering where truth is still the subject.
He wrote about us as though our struggles mattered — because to him, they truly did. Workers across this country owe Terry Bell a debt that words cannot fully repay.
Tributes & Remembrances
Words from colleagues, friends, and the public
Tributes have poured in from across the media, labour, and civil society communities. A selection is shared here.
SANEF mourned the passing of Terry Bell, describing him as a veteran journalist who upheld the highest standards of independent, fearless journalism. A principled voice for press freedom, Terry spent decades holding power to account and mentoring a generation of journalists who followed in his footsteps.
The South African government paid tribute to Terry Bell as a struggle stalwart and veteran journalist who dedicated his life to opposing apartheid and upholding democratic values. Government noted his decades of exile, his return to a free South Africa, and his continued commitment to truth and accountability.
Read full tribute →Vavi and SAFTU remembered Terry Bell as a "dear comrade" and a consistent, fearless voice for South Africa's working class. His Inside Labour column was essential reading for the labour movement over many years, and he never wavered in his commitment to workers' rights and social justice.
"Terry Bell was a big man. Big in size, big in heart, and big in intellect. He was also a ballet dancer who danced well into his seventies — a fabulous storyteller, a man who loved coffee and the surf and red wine and philosophical discussions." A force for good in the world.
Read full tribute →Daily Maverick remembered Terry Bell as someone who "spoke truth to power until the very end" — maintaining his personal blog, writing and engaging publicly until just six days before his passing. His legacy is one of uncompromising intellectual honesty and a lifelong commitment to justice.
Read full tribute →"From exile days to the present, Terry Bell always, with no holds barred, spoke his mind. Sometimes one agreed and sometimes disagreed, but at all times admired his feisty voice, always willing to challenge and speak truth to power."
Media + Memories
Photographs and Recollections
Photographs
Memories
Shared with love
Stories, notes, and reflections can be placed here as a written archive of remembrance. Submit your memory using the Public Tributes section.
— The Bell Family
A voice that endured
"From exile days to the present, Terry Bell always, with no holds barred, spoke his mind. Sometimes one agreed and sometimes disagreed, but at all times admired his feisty voice, always willing to challenge and speak truth to power."
— Patric Tariq Mellet, public historian
Big in every way
"Terry Bell was a big man. Big in size, big in heart, and big in intellect. He was also a ballet dancer who danced well into his seventies — a fabulous story teller, a man who loved coffee and the surf and red wine and philosophical discussions."
— Alide Dasnois, GroundUp
Do you have a memory, photograph, or tribute to share?
Contributions from friends, colleagues, and community members help build a lasting archive of Terry Bell's life and legacy.
Leave a Tribute →For website enquiries, please contact palesa@clarityglobal.net and kgomotso@oneman.co.za.