Ahmed Kathrada, ANC veteran, died on Tuesday morning after a short illness following brain surgery. Kathrada Foundation Chairperson and Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, was overcome with emotion, saying he has lost a “revolutionary mentor and dear friend”.

“Comrade Kathy was a gentle, humane and humble soul. He was a determined revolutionary who gave his entire life to the liberation struggle in our country,” Hanekom added.

Kathrade was born on August 21, 1929 in rural Schweizer-Reneke and was introduced to politics as a young boy when he joined a non-racial youth club run by the Young Communist League. In 1952, Kathrada was in a group of 20, including Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu, who were sentenced to nine months in prison with hard labour – suspended for two years – for organising the Defiance Campaign against six unjust, apartheid laws. The campaign was jointly organised by the ANC and the SA Indian Congress.

In July 1963, during the Rivonia Trial he was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour on Robben Island. Kathrada spent 26 years and three months in prison, 18 of which were on Robben Island. In 1982, Mandela, Sisulu, and Kathrada were transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town.

While in prison he obtained four university degrees – BA (in History and Criminology), B Bibliography (in African Politics and Library Science), BA Honours (History) and BA Honours (African Politics).

In 2008, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation was launched with the aim of deepening non-racialism. Kathrada was an active participant in the Foundation’s work, which includes promoting Constitutional ideals and human rights, youth leadership and development, challenging racism and preserving and promoting liberation history.

Kathrada is survived by his wife, Barbara Hogan, also an ANC stalwart and veteran.