Indian-origin South African anti-apartheid activist dies

Kathrada, 87, died at the Donald Gordon Hospital after complications following a brain surgery, his foundation said. Kathrada, who spent 26 years and 3 months in prison, including 18 years on the infamous Robben Island, was admitted to the hospital on March 4 initially for dehydration but doctors later picked up a clot on his brain‚ which was subsequently removed. 

After the operation, he had “experienced several health- related setbacks”, the Ahmad Kathrada Foundation said. Kathrada will be buried according to Muslim religious rights on Wednesday, the foundation said. 

“This is great loss to the ANC (African National Congress), the broader liberation movement and South Africa as a whole. Internationally, he was staunch in his support for the Palestinian struggle,” Neeshan Balton, Executive Director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, said. “Kathy was an inspiration to millions in different parts of the world,” said Balton. 

South African President Jacob Zuma condoled the death of Kathrada, praising him for serving “selflessly throughout his adult life”. He declared a special official funeral for him. The President instructed that the national flag fly at half-mast throughout the country from today until the evening of the official memorial service. 

The family has requested a private funeral ceremony, the President said. Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead the send-off, Zuma said. Kathrada, referred to Mandela as his ‘elder brother’, was among three political prisoners who were sentenced to life imprisonment together with the S African anti-apartheid icon after the infamous Rivonia Trial of 1964. The two others were Andrew Mlangeni and Denis Goldberg. They played major roles in shaping the country’s policies after Mandela’s election as the first democratic President of S.Africa in 1994.