CONDOLENCE MESSAGE FROM THE AHMED KATHRADA FOUNDATION TO THE FAMILY, COMRADES AND FRIENDS OF THE LATE TOM MANTHATA

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation is deeply saddened by the passing on of Comrade Tom Manthata on 11 July 2020 at the age of 80. The Foundation would like to express its sincere condolences to the family, friends and comrades of Comrade Manthata, one of the foremost anti-apartheid leaders since the 1970s in South Africa.Thomas Madikwe Manthata was born on 29 November 1939 in Soekmekaar in the then Northern Transvaal. After completing his training as a teacher, he taught at a primary school for three years. In 1967, he began teaching in Soweto at the Sekano Ntoane High School, where he became known as a teacher that encouraged critical political debates among his students; some of whom later became politically prominent such as President Cyril Ramaphosa and Amos Masondo (MP).In the early 1970s, he arranged for meetings between Soweto students and Black Consciousness activists. Between 1972 and 1989, he was active in the University Christian Movement and the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) and served as the national Vice-President in the latter. He also was a member of the Human Rights Committee established in September 1974 by Mohammed Timol, Sheila Weinberg and Indres and Prema Naidoo. Comrade Manthata served on the Executive Committee of the Black People’s Convention. In 1979, he spoke at the inaugural conference of the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO). He worked for a while at the South African Council of Churches.Comrade Manthata was actively involved in supporting students during the June 16 Soweto students’ uprising against Bantu education. He was a founder member of the Soweto Committee of 10 led by Dr Nthato Motlana during the student revolts. Later, he went on to establish the Soweto Civic Association. He spent six years in detention and in prison on Robben Island. He was a defendant in the Delmas Trial of 1985-1989. Although convicted of treason, he and all the accused were acquitted on appeal a year later.Manthata completed a Masters degree at Coventry University in Britain, and was later appointed as a Commissioner on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He also served on the Human Rights Commission.May his soul rest in peace! Hamba Ka