The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation will on July 22 host a tribute for the late anti-apartheid struggle veteran Ahmed Kathrada in his hometown, Schweizer-Reneke, in the North-West Province.

Deputy President Cyril Rampahosa will speak at the tribute event, which will commence at 14h00 at Rosherville Park, after paying a courtesy visit to the Kathrada family.

The event takes place several weeks ahead of Kathrada’s birthday, and will mark the kick-off of a national programme of tribute and reflection on his life and legacy, that will be rolled out across the country.

“The national programme of tribute is being launched because there are a number of people and organisations who had indicated that they would have loved to have been given an opportunity to speak about and reflect on Kathrada’s life after his passing in March this year, but were unable to attend the funeral and memorial services.

People also needed to be given sufficient time mourn the passing of such an important role player in the South African liberation struggle before reflecting on the depth of his contribution to the country,” said Neeshan Balton, Executive Director of the Foundation.

“The Deputy President has been given the opportunity to speak at the first of the tribute events, as he was unable to share his reflections when the official national memorial did not take place,” Balton added.

The programme on the day will include tributes by the Kathrada family and fellow anti-apartheid activists.

“The national tribute programme will in the coming months be complemented by an Ahmed Kathrada workbook that will be distributed to various schools across the country. The workbook will be based on Kathrada’s Memoirs and the documentary on his life, A Man for All Seasons. The material will be used to keep Kathrada’s legacy alive and educate coming generations about the contribution of the late leader, who was a champion of human rights and non-racialism,” Balton said.

Issued by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation