Siyavuya Mzantsi
STRUGGLE stalwart Ahmed Kathrada has dedicated the Freedom of the City of Cape Town to “worthy recipients” such as Ashley Kriel, Anton Fransch and Dulcie September.
Mayor Patricia de Lille presented the award to Kathrada during a ceremony at the City Hall last night. Professor Richard van der Ross (1988), former president Nelson Mandela (1997), Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (1998) and US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle (2012) have been recipients of the Freedom of the City.
De Lille said Kathrada had helped perceive and interpret the national discourse in terms of reconciliation, instead of racial barriers.
“It is my honour and privilege to bestow upon him the Freedom of the City of Cape Town on behalf of a grateful people and a humbled city,” she said.
The Freedom of the City is the highest honour which a council may bestow on any person of distinction.
Accepting the award, Kathrada said it was flattering and gratifying to know that the decision to honour him was unanimously supported by all the parties. “For this gesture, I must express my sincere thanks and appreciation. Directly related to this, I recall how pleasantly surprised I was when the honourable mayor decided to come all the way to my flat in Cape Town to inform me of this honour,” he said
He also dedicated the honour to Vuyisile Mini, brutally murdered in 1964 for refusing to give evidence against ANC Stalwart Wilton Mkwayi, to Amy Biehl, an American Fulbright scholar stabbed to death in Gugulethu in 1993, and the 600 unarmed Soweto pupils mowed down by the police in the 1976 uprising.
Kathrada said the death of these martyrs was a reminder of how protected they were in prison and no police could shoot or tear gas them on Robben Island.
“Madam mayor, please forgive me for my arrogance by daring to make a suggestion. When you advertise ‘must see’ spots in Cape Town for tourists, will you kindly consider including Robben Island? Among its numerous messages, the one that stands out is, Robben Island represents the triumph of the human spirit against the forces of evil. Seldom in the world’s history has there been a similar dramatic development; literally, within a short space of time; from prison to Parliament, to president,” he said.
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