The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation is a South African-based foundation the seeks to promote

non-racialism Non-racialism, aracialism or antiracialism is a South African ideology rejecting racism and "racialism" while affirming liberal democratic ideals. History Non-racialism became the official state policy of South Africa after April 1994, and it is ...

and the principles within both the

Freedom Charter The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies: the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats ...

and the

South African Constitution The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the human rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of th ...

. It is named after anti-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

activist, political prisoner, and politician

Ahmed Kathrada Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada OMSG (21 August 1929 – 28 March 2017), sometimes known by the nickname "Kathy", was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist. Kathrada's involvement in the anti-apartheid activities of the African Natio ...

. The foundation was founded by Ahmed Kathrada in 2008.

Activities

The foundation has released a number of statements critical of South African politicians who have engaged in alleged acts of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

and

state capture State capture is a type of systemic political corruption in which private interests significantly influence a state's decision-making processes to their own advantage. The term was first used by the World Bank in 2000 to describe certain Central ...

and calling for action to be taken against them. The foundation has also made statements and taken action against individual instances of racism in South Africa as part of its overall focus to prevent racism generally in society. This includes calling the

South African Human Rights Commission The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. Commissio ...

to take action against people who make overtly racist remarks in addition to setting up the Anti-Racism Network South Africa (ARNSA). Memorials to remember anti-apartheid activist and trade unionist,

Neil Aggett Neil Aggett (6 October 1953 – 5 February 1982) was a Kenyan and South African doctor and trade union organiser who was killed, while in detention, by the Security Branch of the Apartheid South African Police Service after being held for 70 day ...

, have been organised by the Kathrada Foundation.

References

{{Greater Johannesburg, pol Organizations established in 2008 Non-profit organisations based in South Africa Civic and political organisations based in Johannesburg