Ahmed "Kathy" Kathrada was a South African political activist of Indian heritage who dedicated his life to the struggle against apartheid. Born in Schweizer-Reneke in 1929, he joined the anti-apartheid movement as a teenager and became a close ally of Nelson Mandela.
In 1964 he was convicted with Mandela and others in the Rivonia Trial and sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent 26 years on Robben Island and other prisons before being released in 1989. His long imprisonment, steadfast dignity and unwavering commitment to justice made him an internationally recognised symbol of resistance.
After his release, Kathrada served as Parliamentary Counsellor to President Mandela and was a founding member of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, which promotes democracy, non-racialism and social justice. He passed away in March 2017, aged 87, widely mourned as one of the last great figures of the liberation movement.