Ahmed Kathrada is a veteran anti-apartheid activist who was jailed for life on 12 June 1964, with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba, Denis Goldberg, Govan Mbeki, Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni. Released on 15 October 1989, he went on to become a Member of Parliament after South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994. He. served one five-year term, during which he also acted as Mr Mandela’s Parliamentary Counsellor.. Mr Kathrada was chairperson of the Robben Island Museum Council from its inception until his term expired in 2006. The author of four books, Mr Kathrada is also the recipient of four honorary doctorates and Isithwalwandwe, the highest award the African National Congress can bestow on an individual. He established the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation in 2008.
