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In pictures: Anti-apartheid veteran Ahmed Kathrada’s funeral

A mourner arrives wearing a hat bearing a picture of Ahmed Kathrada, who was sentenced to life imprisonment alongside Nelson Mandela, during his funeral at the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

Updated on: Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM IST

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A mourner arrives wearing a hat bearing a picture of Ahmed Kathrada, who was sentenced to life imprisonment alongside Nelson Mandela, during his funeral at the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

A mourner arrives wearing a hat bearing a picture of Ahmed Kathrada, who was sentenced to life imprisonment alongside Nelson Mandela, during his funeral at the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

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A mourner holds a programme bearing the face of Ahmed Kathrada. Anti-apartheid leader Ahmed, who spent 26 years in prison for opposing South Africa’s white minority government - much of that time alongside the country’s first black president, Nelson Mandela - died Tuesday at age 87. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

A mourner holds a programme bearing the face of Ahmed Kathrada. Anti-apartheid leader Ahmed, who spent 26 years in prison for opposing South Africa’s white minority government - much of that time alongside the country’s first black president, Nelson Mandela - died Tuesday at age 87. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

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People carry the coffin of South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada to Masjidul Furkaan in Houghton during his wake. Kathrada late in life became such a scathing critic of current President Jacob Zuma, even pleading with him to resign, that he requested Zuma not attend his funeral, the Mail & Guardian newspaper. (Gulshan Khan/AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

People carry the coffin of South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada to Masjidul Furkaan in Houghton during his wake. Kathrada late in life became such a scathing critic of current President Jacob Zuma, even pleading with him to resign, that he requested Zuma not attend his funeral, the Mail & Guardian newspaper. (Gulshan Khan/AFP)

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A member of the African National Congress (ANC), stands next to a coffin during the funeral service for Ahmed Kathrada, at West Park Cemetery in Johannesburg. Kathrada died at a Johannesburg hospital after being admitted for surgery linked to blood clotting on the brain. (Themba Hadebe/AP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

A member of the African National Congress (ANC), stands next to a coffin during the funeral service for Ahmed Kathrada, at West Park Cemetery in Johannesburg. Kathrada died at a Johannesburg hospital after being admitted for surgery linked to blood clotting on the brain. (Themba Hadebe/AP)

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Pravin Gordhan, South Africa's finance minister, left, greets former President Nelson Mandela's wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, during the funeral service for Ahmed Kathrada, at West Park Cemetery in Johannesburg. Zuma, meanwhile, described Kathrada as a much-loved member of South Africa’s long liberation struggle and ordered the national flag to be flown at half-mast at all government buildings. (Themba Hadebe/AP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

Pravin Gordhan, South Africa's finance minister, left, greets former President Nelson Mandela's wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, during the funeral service for Ahmed Kathrada, at West Park Cemetery in Johannesburg. Zuma, meanwhile, described Kathrada as a much-loved member of South Africa’s long liberation struggle and ordered the national flag to be flown at half-mast at all government buildings. (Themba Hadebe/AP)

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Men carrying the coffin of Ahmed Kathrada, during the funeral service. Kathrada was born in 1929 to a scholarly Muslim family and became involved in political activism at the age of 11. He joined the Communist Party in the early 1940s and, as general-secretary of the Transvaal Indian Congress, was instrumental in linking it to the ANC. He later became a member of the ANC military wing’s high command. (Themba Hadebe/AP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

Men carrying the coffin of Ahmed Kathrada, during the funeral service. Kathrada was born in 1929 to a scholarly Muslim family and became involved in political activism at the age of 11. He joined the Communist Party in the early 1940s and, as general-secretary of the Transvaal Indian Congress, was instrumental in linking it to the ANC. He later became a member of the ANC military wing’s high command. (Themba Hadebe/AP)

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Mourners pray during the wake for South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada at Masjid Al Furqan in Houghton. He was acquitted in the 1956-61 mass treason trial but was placed under house arrest in 1962. He went underground a few months before being swept up in the arrests of anti-apartheid activists at Liliesleaf Farm on the outskirts of Johannesburg in 1963. Kathrada and Mandela were part of a group sentenced to life imprisonment after the historic Rivonia trial in 1964. (GUlshan Khan/AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

Mourners pray during the wake for South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada at Masjid Al Furqan in Houghton. He was acquitted in the 1956-61 mass treason trial but was placed under house arrest in 1962. He went underground a few months before being swept up in the arrests of anti-apartheid activists at Liliesleaf Farm on the outskirts of Johannesburg in 1963. Kathrada and Mandela were part of a group sentenced to life imprisonment after the historic Rivonia trial in 1964. (GUlshan Khan/AFP)

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Mourners arrive for the funeral. Kathrada denied all charges against him and was convicted on only one count, sabotage. He was released from prison in 1989, just months before Mandela himself walked free. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

Mourners arrive for the funeral. Kathrada denied all charges against him and was convicted on only one count, sabotage. He was released from prison in 1989, just months before Mandela himself walked free. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

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Mourners carry the coffin during the wake. During the past year, Kathrada was a regular at demonstrations and marches around South Africa, frequently offering his support to students protesting for free education. (Mujahid Safodien/AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

Mourners carry the coffin during the wake. During the past year, Kathrada was a regular at demonstrations and marches around South Africa, frequently offering his support to students protesting for free education. (Mujahid Safodien/AFP)

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People carry the coffin of South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada to Masjidul Furkaan in Houghton during his wake on March 29, 2017. Kathrada, one of Nelson Mandela's closest colleagues in the struggle against white minority rule, died on March 28, aged 87. / AFP PHOTO / MUJAHID SAFODIEN (Mujahid Safodien/AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

People carry the coffin of South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada to Masjidul Furkaan in Houghton during his wake on March 29, 2017. Kathrada, one of Nelson Mandela's closest colleagues in the struggle against white minority rule, died on March 28, aged 87. / AFP PHOTO / MUJAHID SAFODIEN (Mujahid Safodien/AFP)

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People carry the coffin of South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada. But it was a letter he wrote to the president last year, after South Africa’s highest court found that Zuma had violated his oath of office, that brought Kathrada back into the headlines. (Gulshan Khan/AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

People carry the coffin of South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada. But it was a letter he wrote to the president last year, after South Africa’s highest court found that Zuma had violated his oath of office, that brought Kathrada back into the headlines. (Gulshan Khan/AFP)

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A mourner gestures next to a casket of Ahmed Kathrada. The court made the finding after Zuma had refused to abide by an order to pay back some of the millions of dollars in public money spent on upgrading his rural home. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

A mourner gestures next to a casket of Ahmed Kathrada. The court made the finding after Zuma had refused to abide by an order to pay back some of the millions of dollars in public money spent on upgrading his rural home. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

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People carry the coffin of South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada at his home in Johannesburg during his wake on March 29, 2017. Kathrada, one of Nelson Mandela's closest colleagues in the struggle against white minority rule, died on March 28, aged 87. / AFP PHOTO / GULSHAN KHAN (Gulshan Khan/AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

People carry the coffin of South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada at his home in Johannesburg during his wake on March 29, 2017. Kathrada, one of Nelson Mandela's closest colleagues in the struggle against white minority rule, died on March 28, aged 87. / AFP PHOTO / GULSHAN KHAN (Gulshan Khan/AFP)

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Kathrada was married to former government minister Barbara Hogan, who was sentenced to 10 years in jail for high treason against the apartheid government in 1982. (Gulshan Khan/AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

Kathrada was married to former government minister Barbara Hogan, who was sentenced to 10 years in jail for high treason against the apartheid government in 1982. (Gulshan Khan/AFP)

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A worker walks past posters bearing the face of Veteran South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

A worker walks past posters bearing the face of Veteran South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada. (Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS)

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People hang a sign as political activists and religious leaders attend an interfaith memorial gathering for anti-Apartheid stalwart Ahmed Kathrada. (Rajesh Jantilal/AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2017 4:28 PM

People hang a sign as political activists and religious leaders attend an interfaith memorial gathering for anti-Apartheid stalwart Ahmed Kathrada. (Rajesh Jantilal/AFP)

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