Leaving behind a legacy rife with social justice, noted South African anti-apartheid activist, a Robben Island prisoner and one of Nelson Mandela's closest colleagues, Ahmed Kathrada died on Monday, aged 87. His charity foundation said that he took his last breath in a hospital in Johannesburg where he was admitted after a short illness following brain surgery.
Kathrada, who served as parliamentary counsellor to president Mandela from 1994 to 1999, in the first African National Congress (ANC), had spent 26 years and three months in prison, 18 of which were spent on notorious jail Robben Island. Kathrada, born in 1929, joined the fight against white-minority apartheid rule at the age of 17. He was amongst the 2,000 “passive resisters” arrested in 1946 for defying laws that discriminated against Indian South Africans.
Retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu described him as a “man of remarkable gentleness, modesty and steadfastness. These were people of the highest integrity and moral fibre who, through their humility and humanity, inspired our collective self-worth- and the world's confidence in us,” Tutu said.
The ANC released a statement saying, “The nation has lost a titan, an outstanding leader and a great patriot. His life is a lesson in humility, tolerance, resilience, and a steadfast commitment to principle.” Kathrada is known to be an extremely popular figure in South Africa. Cape Town-based journalist Yazeed Kamaldien, who has accompanied him to Robben Island a couple of times, said the main reason for his popularity was his genuine attempt to engage and listen to everyone. “He never asserted his ego. You never felt that he was trying to impose his experience or knowledge,” he said.
Kathrada, in an interview back in 2015, said he had made over 300 trips to the infamous jail since his release. He has even conducted guided tours for global leaders and icons, including former US president Barack Obama. Kathrada was also known for his support to the Fees Must Fall movement that began across South African universities calling for the end of tuition fees and better access to higher education.
Lovingly called Kathy, the leader had played teacher for fellow prisoners during his time in jail and a strategic thinker who made part of the ANC delegation in the negotiations that ended apartheid. The Nelson Mandela Foundation lauded him as “the embodiment of promise” during the dark years and said he was a “comrade, associate, and a close friend of Nelson Mandela through seven decades.”
