Ahmed Kathrada Remembered On His 88th Birthday

Kathrada will always be remembered as a critical activist in SA history
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Ahmed 'Kathy' Kathrada, the ANC veteran who spent many years in a prison cell on Robben Island with former president Nelson Mandela, would have turned 88 on Monday.

The African National Congress commemorated his life on Sunday by unveiling the Kathrada site of remembrance at Westpark cemetry in Johannesburg.

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Ferial Haffajee/Twitter

The memorial site is the exact size of his holding cell.

Kathrada was a well-known ANC cadre who helped fight the apartheid regime. After the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, Kathrada was detained for five months in prison.

In 1963, he was sentenced to 26 years in prison, 18 of them was spent on Robben Island.

On March 28, 2017, Kathrada died at the age of 87 following a battle with pneumonia.