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Ahmed Kathrada - South Africa's Freedom Fighter
4-05-2017
Ahmed Khatrada. In all honesty, how many of us have even heard of this South African legend. Prisoner number 468/64, who spent 26 long year, imprisoned, alongside with Nelson Mandela, at Robben Island and Pollsmoor Prison, for his part in an Anti-Apartheid movement, as an active member of Mandela led ANC, fighting for the equality, justice, freedom, and dignity for the people of South Africa. Mr. Khatrada, best known among South African as “Uncle Kathy,” was a freedom fighter, a nation’s father, a law maker, championed women’s rights, and devoted his energy towards non-racial South Africa, a philanthropist – A true humanitarian at heart.
Hence lies the tragedy with the Muslim Ummah. In this new age of Islamophobia and rising Anti-Muslim sentiments, we have not only forgotten our heroes of the past, whom have made immense contribution towards the betterment of human civilization, who could inspire us, our children, and silence the agitators. We have failed miserably to celebrate the legends among us. Henceforth, for our current predicament, we cannot blame anyone, other than ourselves because, “Those who forget their history, has no future.”
This week Ahmed Khatrada, at age 87, most of it spent as a human rights activist. A sincere humanitarian whose life mission was to serve the poor and destitute, met his creator. In modern day Muslim legends, he falls among the Muslim Ummah’s modern day unsung heroes, like Abdul Sattar Edhi, Hafiz Mohammed Patel, Junaid Jamshed, Sadiq Jalal Al-Azm, Amjad Sabri, Muhammad Ali among others. May Allah have mercy upon their souls.
Mr. Khatrada, became a political activist during his pre-teen years. At the early age of 12 he joined the Young Communist League of South Africa. Based on his Indian origin and due to policies at the time he could not be admitted in either European or African school. So he moved to Johannesburg, some 200 miles away from his village to attend school. This is where his political career ascended.
At age seventeen, he joined Transvaal Indian Congress. He left school and begin his career working for the Transvaal Passive Resistance Congress challenging the “Ghetto Act,” which sought to give Indians limited political representation and restricted where Indians could live, trade and own land. For his part in Civil Disobedience, along with 2000 other students he was arrested and imprisoned for one month.
As a Transvaal Indian Youth Congress delegate, Mr. Khatrada, represented the University of the Witwatersrand at 3rd World Festival of Youth and Students in East Berlin in 1951. He remained in Europe, enhancing political activism travelling to Warsaw, and working in Budapest, at the headquarters of the World Federation of Democratic Youth for nine months.
During the course he met Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. They became best of friends. He was indeed Mr. Mandela’s closest ally, and confidant. Together they laid down the framework to highlight the struggle of the Black South African people, what ultimately became an Anti-Apartheid Movement, and subsequently the equal rights for all South African nations and not just the privileged white.
On 11 July 1963, Khatrada was arrested at the South African internal headquarters of Umkhonto we Sizwe ("The Spear of the Nation" – the military wing of the ANC) in Rivonia, near Johannesburg. Although Khatrada was not a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, he became one of the accused in the famous Rivonia Trial, which started in October 1963. He was charged with sabotage and attempting to overthrow the government and to start a guerilla war
The trial ended in June 1964; Khatrada was sentenced to life imprisonment along with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Andrew Mlangeni, Billy Nair, Elias Motsoaledi, Raymond Mhlaba and Denis Goldberg.[
While in jail on Robben Island and in Pollsmoor, Khatrada completed Bachelor's degrees in History/Criminology as well as three other degrees, thanks to his family who paid the tuition fee.
In addition to receiving the Isitwalandwe Award (the ANC’s highest possible accolade) whilst still in prison, Khatrada has also been awarded four Honorary Doctorates, including the University of Missouri, Michigan State University, and the University of Kentucky.
After he completed his 26 years prison term in 1989. He was elected as South Africa’s Member of Parliament for the ANC. In 1991 he was also appointed as an ANC Public Relations Head, where he became the face of the ANC. In 1992 he performed Hajj, the once in a lifetime pilgrimage to Makkah. In September 1994 he was appointed as the political advisor to President Mandela in the newly created post of Parliamentary Counsellor.
Beyond South Africa, he had launched the International Campaign to Free Marwan Barghouthi and All Palestinian Prisoners.
At his funeral, Zenani Mandela, daughter of Nelson Mandela, stated, “For Uncle Kathy, as it is for my father, it is abundantly clear that millions of South Africans consider them as relatives of the first order.”
"There are people who come into your life and never leave, because they are truly special. They have what we call presence, that rare ability to loom large in our lives so that their impact on our lives is multiplied a thousand times over. He was my other father."
She said she had only the fondest memories of the "gentle giant" whom she describes as one as the last of a generation who fought so valiantly for South Africa and even in liberation still managed to practice what was preached during the struggle. She said, walked the talk. "Uncle Kathy was my dad's best friend, brother and confidante."
He also established Ahmed Khatrada Foundation which aims to create future leaders, mentoring youth, and address issues such as Anti-Facism, Anti- Racists, Lobbying, Advocacy, Civic Engagement, and promote Tolerance and Multiculturalism.
Ahmed Khatrada is no longer among us, but he left a legacy for all us to cherish. A legacy of real Jihad, of patience, persistence, hard work, commitment, loyalty, struggle for establishing a society where justice, equality, and freedom for all people regardless of colour, creed or religion superseded over all else. He did not let anything stop him. Not even a possibility of being killed for what he truly believed in and stood for it till his last breath.
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