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A photo of Ahmed kathrada by Office of Senator Christopher Coons –

Top to Interesting Facts about Ahmed Kathrada

Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada was born on 21 August 1929 and died on 28 March 2017. He was sometimes known by the nickname “Kathy”. So, Kathy was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist.

Kathrada’s involvement in the anti-apartheid activities of the African National Congress (ANC) led him to his long-term imprisonment following the Rivonia Trial, in which he was held at Robben Island and Pollsmoor Prison. In the article are the top ten interesting facts about Ahmed Kathrada.

1. Kathrada authored a book, No Bread for Mandela

No Bread for Mandela is the gripping story of Kathrada’s lifelong battle for justice in South Africa. This riveting memoir, spanning the history of modern South Africa, sheds new light on the struggle against apartheid. Kathrada’s memoir is a vivid behind-the-scenes look at the life of the political activist and prisoner Nelson Mandela.

No Bread for Mandela is a moving and insightful account of a man who served among a loyal cadre of the African National Congress and helped in shaping his country’s history. Kathrada’s life is an inspiration and a model for everyone who seeks peace, justice, and reconciliation.

2. He was born into a Gujarati Bohra family

The Gujarati people or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. So, Sunni Bohras are a community from the state of Gujarat in India.

Even though Ahmed Kathrada was born on 21 August 1929 in the small country town of Schweizer-Reneke in the Western Transvaal, he is the fourth of six children in a Gujarati Bohra family of South African Indian immigrant parents from Surat, Gujarat. He is of Indian Origin.

3. Dr Yusuf Dadoo influenced Kathrada in his career

Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo was a South African Communist and anti-apartheid activist. During his life, he was chair of both the South African Indian Congress and the South African Communist Party, as well as a major proponent of cooperation between those organisations and the African National Congress.

He was a leader of the Defiance Campaign and a defendant at the Treason Trial in 1956. Once in Johannesburg, Kathrada was influenced by leaders of the Transvaal Indian Congress mostly Dr Yusuf Dadoo. However, other leaders like IC Meer, Moulvi and Yusuf Cachalia, and JN Singh also influenced him.

4. He became a political activist at the early age of 12

Ahmad Kathrada and US Senator Christopher Coons photo by Office of Senator Christopher Coons – ommons

Kathrada joined the Young Communist League of South Africa when he was 12 years old. He took part in various activities such as handing out leaflets and performing volunteer work in the individual passive resistance against the Pegging Act in 1941.

5. He became a full-time political activist at the age of 17

At the age of 17, Kathrada left school to work full-time for the Transvaal Passive Resistance Council to work against the Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act.

The Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act, of 1946 is also known as the “Ghetto Act” of South Africa. The act sought to confine Asian ownership and occupation of land to certain clearly defined areas of towns.

The Act also prohibited Asians from owning or occupying property without a permit when the such property had not been owned or occupied by Asians before 1946.

When Kathrada joined the council, it was in the process of seeking to give Indians limited political representation and restricted where Indians could live, trade and own land.

6. Kathrada was the chairperson of the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress

Kathrada was a student at the University of the Witwatersrand when he was sent as a delegate of the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress. The congress was the 3rd World Festival of Youth and Students and was held in East Berlin in 1951.

He remained in Europe to attend a congress of the International Union of Students in Warsaw. He then travelled to Budapest where he worked at the headquarters of the World Federation of Democratic Youth for nine months.

7. He was one of 156 accused in the four-year Treason Trial

Nelson Mandela photo by Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com –

As a result of the growing cooperation between the African and Indian Congresses in the 1950s, Kathrada came into close contact with African National Congress leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu.

Coming in in-contact with leaders like Nelson Mandela then was a big step for an aspiring activist and also a huge risk because it was easier for one to go down with the then prominent political activists such as Nelson Mandela.

So, Kathrada was one of 156 accused in the four-year Treason Trial which lasted from 1956 to 1960. Eventually, all of the accused were found not guilty.

8. Why did Kathrada go underground early in 1962?

The African National Congregation and various other anti-apartheid organisations were banned in 1960. Kathrada continued his political activities despite repeated detentions and increasingly severe house arrest measures against him. To be free to continue his activities, Kathrada went underground early in 1962.

9. Kathrada was one of the accused in the famous Rivonia Trial

On 11 July 1963, Kathrada was arrested at the South African internal headquarters of Umkhonto we Sizwe which was the military wing of the ANC in Rivonia, near Johannesburg.

Although Kathrada 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 sabotaging and attempting to overthrow the government and start a guerrilla war.

The trial ended in June 1964. Kathrada was sentenced to life imprisonment along with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Andrew Mlangeni, Billy Nair, Elias Motsoaledi, Raymond Mhlaba and Denis Goldberg.

10. Kathrada got a Bachelor’s degree in History and Criminology while in prison

A photo of Pollsmoor Prison by Discott –

For the following 18 years, Kathrada was confined to the Robben Island Maximum Security Prison off Cape Town along with most of his Rivonia Trial co-defendants. In October 1982, he was moved to Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison near Cape Town.

While in jail on Robben Island and in pollsmoor, Kathrada completed a Bachelor’s degree in History and Criminology as well as three other degrees. To be exclusive, the then government was not the one responsible for his tuition fees but his family paid the tuition fee.