Breyten Breytenbach’s daughter, Daphnée, has paid tribute to her father after his death was announced on Sunday.

Daphnée Breytenbach is a journalist based in France.

In a short tribute, Daphnée wrote on Instagram:

“I don’t have the words. I don’t yet have the words to say everything he was. He leaves a huge void. He was the most exceptional being I have ever known. I am immensely proud to call him my father.”

The message accompanied a photo carousel, with images showing Daphnée with her father and Breytenbach with his two grandsons.

Daphnée also spoke to French media about Breytenbach’s death.

“Immense artist, militant against apartheid, he fought for a better world until the end,” she told AFP.

“His words, his paintings, his imagination, his resilience will continue to guide us,” his daughter said.

The South African writer and poet died early Sunday morning in Paris, France.

“He passed away peacefully in Paris (France) at the age of 85 – with his wife Yolande by his side,” Breytenbach’s family said in a statement.

“Breyten was a celebrated South African wordsmith – a poet, novelist, painter and activist, whose work profoundly shaped literature and the arts, both locally and abroad,” the statement continued.

He was born on 16 September 1939 in Bonnievale in the Western Cape and was one of five siblings.

In 1962, he married Yolande Ngo Thi Hoang Lien from Vietnam.

He published his first work in 1964, Die Ysterkoei Moet Sweet.

Due to his anti-apartheid activism, Breytenbach was arrested in 1975, charged with treason under the Terrorism Act and sentenced to nine years in prison.

He was released in 1982 and went to France, where he became a citizen.

Breytenbach is survived by his wife, Yolande, daughter Daphnée, and two grandsons.

SA author Justin Fox also paid tribute to Breytenbach with a social media post.

Fox said Breytenbach’s work “profoundly shaped literature and the arts, both in South Africa and abroad”.

“Shining through his work was an intolerance of injustice and contempt for the venal, corrupt leaders of both the old regime and the new,” he said.

“Breytie was witty, gentle, entertaining and a formidable intellect. He has been a part of my life since childhood,” Fox said.

Breytenbach was friends with Fox’s parents and uncles, Francois and Uys Krige.

“He spent his first night of freedom in our Newlands home, at one point having to hide out in my attic bedroom (surrounded by model Spitfires and Messerschmitts), a scene recalled in his book The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist,” Fox shared.

In 1991, Fox spent two weeks with Breytenbach in Spain.

“Later, the Breytenbachs kindly let me use their flat in Paris as a base. Ever since, he has been a mentor to me (he called me ‘boetie’), as he was to so many other South African writers.”

“A few months ago, we had a long and joyful lunch in Sea Point – as always talking literature, politics and rugby – little knowing it would be the last time,” Fox added.

“I’ve always looked up to Breyten as a kind of honorary uncle, an anchor in my life. So long, dearest Breytie; thank you for your generosity, kindness … and your brilliance.”