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South Africans in Toronto mourn anti-apartheid hero Ahmed Kathrada
4-05-2017
Ahmed Kathrada may not be a household name like Nelson Mandela. The anti-apartheid fighter was a quiet figure, often working behind the scenes.
But even in his later years, Kathrada, also known as “Uncle Kathy,” continued to speak truth to power — as he did last year in an open letter to South Africa’s beleaguered President Jacob Zuma, who faces corruption and bribery allegations, asking him to resign and put the people’s interest first.
“That’s the legacy of Uncle Kathy,” Ryerson University political science professor Anver Saloojee told a memorial service at Toronto’s Noor Cultural Centre on Sunday, remembering the man who dedicated his life to fighting social injustice. “The legacy of his struggle is not for his life. It is for the soul of the country.”
Kathrada, who with Mandela was among eight African National Congress activists sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, died last week in Johannesburg at age 87.
Toronto’s Zeib Jeeva, a founder of Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund Canada, met Kathrada in person for the first time in 1990, months after Kathrada was released from prison.
“I was impressed by the aura on him. I see somebody who committed his life to the betterment of the society and people,” recalled Jeeva, who, along with others in Toronto’s closely knit South African community, worked quickly to organize the memorial.
“Like Mandela, he was not a bitter person. After he got out (of jail), he reached out to his enemies. They all gave their lives for the fight for freedom. He was one of the last few elders left in the struggle along with Mandela. We are all so saddened by the news,” added Jeeva, who moved to Canada from South Africa in 1970.
Born to a Muslim immigrant family from India, Kathrada quit school to join the anti-apartheid movement when he was 13.
“Kathy was involved in every possible activity against the apartheid regime and its racist policies. He was constantly arrested and banned,” said Ebrahim Moolla, 87, who shared an apartment with Kathrada for nine years. “He just had a powerful personality.”
Moolla, who fled to Canada in 1974, knew his friend was ailing and was not surprised when he got the call from a friend of Kathrada’s partner, Barbara Hogan, just minutes after the activist’s death.
“I last spoke with Kathy a month ago. We just reminisced (about) our good old days. We talked about our history, how and when we met,” Moolla said. “His passing may mark the end of an era, but our history will not be forgotten.”
Under apartheid, Moolla explained, people were treated according to the lightness of their skin, with white people having the most privileges, followed by those of mixed race, and black Africans at the bottom.
However, Kathrada refused to accept his privileges unless his black comrades were treated the same. “He played a key role in bringing other people to the freedom movement, for inclusion,” Moolla added.
Elizabeth Rowley never met Kathrada, but felt compelled to say farewell to the freedom fighter because of her own involvement in anti-apartheid activities in Canada before the end of South Africa’s white minority rule in 1994.
“Ahmed Kathrada was a very strong leader. The anti-apartheid movement was one of the most significant struggles of the 20th century,” said Rowley.
“The struggle for equality is international. It has no border. People get old and pass on, but … I am confident our young people will not forget, and will learn from the struggles of the makers of history.”
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