Meet Kathrada, Dadoo and Gandhi
KATHRADA and Dadoo are surnames that stand out when one speaks about South African antiapartheid Struggle icons.
The name Indira Gandhi also holds similar weight in India, where she had been prime minister until her assassination in 1984.
Today, Kathrada Sithole, Dadoo Sithole and Indira Sithole, cousins from uMlazi, are proud to have been named after the influential trio by their grandfather, George Mzwakhe Sithole.
Sithole had spent five years on Robben Island with Ahmed Kathrada.
Their grandfather, upon his release in 1987, had later become a councillor in uMlazi and then a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature.
Kathrada Sithole, 29, a client service consultant, said: “My mom used to show me pictures of Ahmed Kathrada when I was a child and while he was still on the island. She explained to me, when I was about 5, who he was.
“Although I went through some teasing in my early years, it was a great feeling to be named after such an enormous icon.”
He said the teasing, however, stopped when his peers understood who Ahmed Kathrada was and the sacrifices he had made for the country.
His grandfather, Sithole said, was, however, his hero.
“He taught us a lot about the Struggle and where we came from. He was a charitable man and ensured he instilled that in us.
“My grandfather also understood that although the apartheid struggle was over, there was more work to be done.
His cousin, Dadoo Sithole, 31, added: “I was about 10 when I started reading the book, Long Walk To Freedom, because I was curious to know about the person I was named after.
“I then started reading more about Yusuf Dadoo and the more I read, the more I learnt about his contributions toward a democratic South Africa.”
He said having to explain his name to others, provided him with the opportunity to school his colleagues on the stalwart.
Dadoo Sithole said his grandfather preferred not to speak about imprisonment. “He only spoke once about the ill treatment on the island, which had evoked sorrow in mkhulu’s (grandfather’s) eyes.”
Kathrada said, “The legacy left behind by Mkhulu Ahmed Kathrada and Mkhulu George Sithole is a platform to choose our own futures and intelligence to see beyond race. They have played their part in a Struggle that continues and it is up to us, the youth, to progress from here.”
Thanduxolo Sabela, provincial secretary of the ANC Youth League, confirmed that Sithole senior was a member of the ANC who had spent time on Robben Island.
Zaakirah Vadi, from the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, said: “Naming people after our Struggle icons is one way in which their memories and histories can be kept alive.”
“He allowed us, his grandchildren, to voice our opinions and often told us that we, as the youth, are the ones who need to help shape the country,” Kathrada Sithole said.
His grandfather’s attributes and outlooks were similar to those of Ahmed Kathrada.
Indira could not be reached for comment.