Collection 062 - Ahmed Kathrada Collection

Identity area

Reference code

ZA UWCRIMA MR-RT-062

Title

Ahmed Kathrada Collection

Date(s)

  • 1954 - 2002 (Accumulation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

178 boxes. Approximately 5 items relate directly to the Rivonia Trial ; Text-based documents

Context area

Name of creator

(08 August 1929 - 28 March 2017)

Biographical history

Anti-apartheid activist, politician, political prisoner and MP. Leading member of the ANC and of the SACP. Founding member of the Transvaal Indian Volunteer Corps and its successor, the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress. Imprisoned for one month in 1946 for his participation in the SAIC’s Passive Resistance Campaign against the Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act. Convicted for his participation in the 1952 Defiance Campaign. Banned in 1954. Co-organiser of the Congress of the People and a member of the Congress Alliance General Purpose Committee. Detained during the 1960 State of Emergency. One of the last twenty-eight accused in the Treason Trial acquitted in 1961. Placed under house arrest in 1962. Arrested at Liliesleaf Farm in July 1963 and charged with sabotage in the Rivonia Trial. Imprisoned on Robben Island, 1964–82, then Pollsmoor Prison until his release on 15 October 1989. MP from 1994, after South Africa’s first democratic elections, and served as political adviser to President Mandela.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

This collection is in two accessions. The first accession contains mainly prison correspondence, study materials from jail, other manuscripts and documents from Kathrada’s prison years, a large number of ANC and other documents from the years following his release, as well as a number of books and artefacts. There are microfilm copies of the prison letters. The only material related directly to the Rivonia Trial in this section is 11. 5, a copy of part of the Rivonia Trial record signed by Mandela, Sisulu, Kathrada and Motsoaledi given to them after their move to Pollsmoor Prison.

The second accession consists of prison artefacts, correspondence, documents and study materials from imprisonment (1964- 1989), as well as records from his release reflecting a number of the positions he held in public office and his various interests (1989-2002). There are only a few items from the period prior to his imprisonment. Records related to the Rivonia Trial are: A2.8: part of Rivonia Trial record (unsigned and unbound) with Robben Island Prison stamp on it (Judgement); A1.6.3.10: Letter to The Head of Prisons Pollsmoor Maximum Prison requesting permission to spend his 60th birthday with Rivonia Trial colleagues (4 August 1989) and follow-up letter (20 August 1989); and B3.6.3: Information re documentary called "Rivonia" from 1990s.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

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Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Restricted. Consult Mr Kathrada prior to use.

Conditions governing reproduction

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Finding aids

Published inventory available at repository: Guide to the Ahmed Kathrada Papers: UWC-Robben Island Mayibuye Archives catalogue no 9 for the first accession Link here is inventory for second accession - C:\DataFlow\DocumentLinks\Worddocs\RT0062.doc

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