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The UNI Global Union family is in mourning today at the news that Anti-Apartheid giant Ahmed Kathrada has passed away at 87. Though saddened by his passing, UNI also wishes to celebrate his life and his achievements for the working people of South Africa and those who love freedom all over the world.

Kathrada, a former Robben Island prisoner and trusted ally of Nelson Mandela, played a leading role in overturning Apartheid in South Africa.

Newly elected Regional Secretary of UNI Africa, Keith Jacobs said, “Today we lost another stalwart, a hero of the poor and destitute, Comrade Ahmed Kathrada. I join with my brother and sister South Africans as we celebrate his life and hope that those in power today will learn from his example of selfless service, courage and wisdom.”

UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said, “We had the honour of meeting with ‘Kathy’, as he was known, at our World Congress in Cape Town in 2014 where he was presented with UNI’s ‘Freedom from Fear’ Award. Who could deserve the accolade more than a man who stood with Mandela and others against the seemingly insurmountable forces of the evil of Apartheid – and won. He was a great man, the embodiment of humanity and with a sense of humility and humour which beguiled our Cape Town world conference. Kathy will be sadly missed but never forgotten and we will pay tribute to him and Nelson Mandela at our World Conference in Liverpool next year.

Kathrada, or Kathy as South Africans affectionately called him, was one of the Rivonia trialists sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island during the Apartheid era,  along with Nelson Mandela and 10 other Anti-Apartheid activists, all arrested in a 1963 police raid on their hideout at Liliesleaf Farm, north of Johannesburg.

Kathrada, an African National Congress activist, played a major role in South Africa’s liberation struggle. He called Mandela his “elder brother,” and mourned his 2013 death with the words, “My life is a void.”

See full biography here:  http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ahmed-kathrada-20170328-st...