It was a cold winter’s day in 1964 that Ahmed Kathrada arrived on Robben Island to begin his life imprisonment for sabotage, and it was another cold winter’s day when he visited Flow’s Johannesburg offices.
We were thrilled that day in 2014 when “Uncle Kathy” arrived with Sahm Venter, senior researcher at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, who donated blood at Flow’s quarterly blood drive.
Today, along with the rest of South Africa, we were deeply saddened to wake up to the news that Kathrada had passed away.
“We are heartsore,” says Flow MD Tiffany Turkington-Palmer. “We have met Ahmed Kathrada many times over the years, mostly through our work with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which is one of our longest-standing clients. Along with the rest of South Africa, and the world, we will miss him.”
While Kathrada, who died on 28 March aged 87, did not give blood that day, he sat under an umbrella in the sun and told enthralled Flow staff stories of the struggle, says our head of social media, Melanie Feris. “All these amazing stories.”
“I remember that morning when we arrived on Robben Island. It was cold and raining, a typical winter's day in Cape Town ...” Kathrada told staff.
It was June 1964 when Kathrada and his co-accused in the Rivonia Treason Trial, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni, arrived on Robben Island to serve life sentences on charges of sabotage.
“It was cold. I got long pants, the others, because they were black, got shorts. I wanted to protest and ask for shorts, too – it didn’t feel right. But Mandela told me not to protest, it was what they [the prison officials] wanted us to do – protest. He [Mandela] said there were other ways of protesting.
“I was the youngest of the group – Govan Mbeki was 20 years older than me.”
It’s an often-told story, because it says so much about the pettiness of so many apartheid laws.
Kathrada said he had been back to Robben Island over 280 times, often accompanying dignitaries such as former US President Barack Obama and actress Charlize Theron.
We will remember Kathrada as a principled and gentle South African, who committed his life to non-racialism and democracy. He was a man who made time for everybody – such as on that memorable day when he visited us.