A Simple Freedom: the Strong Mind of Robben Island Prisoner, No. 468/64

(Hardback)

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In the Robben Island prison register, Nelson Mandela was famously recorded as prisoner number 466/64. Number 468/64 was Ahmed Kathrada. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 in the infamous Rivonia Trial, Ahmed Kathrada spent 26 continuous years in jail for his political beliefs. During his incarceration he secretly jotted down quotations which he came across and liked: proverbs, aphorisms, poetry and drama extracts, and passages from books, magazines and newspapers. On Robben Island these quotations were like familiar friends. They helped steel the soul within the stolen body - the authorities might control that body but they could not lock up the mind.

Author Bio

Ahmed Kathrada was born a shopkeeper s son in rural South Africa in 1929. He was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Rivonia Trial in 1964 with, among others, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. On his release, Kathrada became a Member of Parliament and a Parliamentary Counsellor in the office of President Mandela. From 1997 until 2006 Kathrada served as chairman of the Robben Island Museum Council and he has on scores of occasions taken world leaders, celebrities and others on personally conducted visits to the island. Previous Books: Mandela The Authorised Portrait (contributing editor, 2006); Memoirs; Letters from Robben Island.