James Kati

James Kati
Member of the National Assembly
In office 3 July 2001 – 29 September 2006
Personal details
Born	Zamiwonga James Kati (1924-01-04)4 January 1924 Luheweni, Ngcobo Cape Province, Union of South Africa
Died	29 September 2006(2006-09-29) (aged 82)
Political party	African National Congress
Nickname	Castro

Zamiwonga James Kati (4 January 1924 – 29 September 2006) was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly until his death in 2006. He joined the ANC in 1949 and was a member of the Umkhonto we Sizwe underground in the Transkei.

Early life and activism

Kati was born on 4 January 1924[1] in Luheweni, a village in Ngcobo in the former Cape Province.[2] He joined the ANC in Cape Town in 1949 and was first arrested in 1952 during the Defiance Campaign.[2] After the ANC was banned by the apartheid government in 1960, he became a leading member of its underground in the region that became the Transkei bantustan.[3] He also joined the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe,[4] where he was known by the nom de guerre Castro.[3]

He was detained for his political activities on several occasions and was imprisoned on Robben Island between September 1964 and July 1971.[5] He served another six-year prison sentence in the 1980s.[6] After the democratic transition, he testified to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that he had been severely tortured while in detention.[6][2]

Legislative career

Kati was not initially elected to Parliament in South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994,[7] but he joined the National Assembly during the legislative term that followed, filling a casual vacancy in the ANC's caucus.[8] He was not immediately re-elected in the next general election in 1999 but returned on 3 July 2001, filling the casual vacancy that had arisen when Smangaliso Mkhatshwa was elected Mayor of Tshwane in 2000.[9] Kati was re-elected in 2004, representing the Eastern Cape constituency,[1] and at the time of his death, aged 82, he was the oldest serving Member of Parliament.[10]

Personal life and death

Kati's wife died during apartheid while he was imprisoned.[2] He was hospitalised in Umtata in 2006[11] and died on 29 September.[4][12] ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma spoke at his funeral.[13]

References

1. "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
2. "Human rights violations". Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 1996. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
3. Gibbs, Timothy (2011). "Chris Hani's 'Country Bumpkins': Regional Networks in the African National Congress Underground, 1974-1994". Journal of Southern African Studies. 37 (4): 681. ISSN 0305-7070.
4. "ANC mourns death of MP James Kati". The Mail & Guardian. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
5. "James Kati". South African History Online. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
6. "Volume 5, Chapter 2: Zamiwonga James Kati". Truth Commission Special Report. Department of Justice. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
7. "Minutes of proceedings of the Constitutional Assembly" (PDF). Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. 24 May 1994. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
8. "Members of the National Assembly". Parliament of South Africa. 3 June 1998. Archived from the original on 28 June 1998. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
9. "The National Assembly List of Resinations and Nominations". Parliament of South Africa. 2 June 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
10. "ANC seeks millions to keep MPs safe". IOL. 20 October 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
11. "Rebellion in the Eastern Cape ANC ranks". The Mail & Guardian. 1 September 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
12. "ANC mourns death of MP Kati". IOL. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
13. "Zuma calls for unity". News24. 21 October 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2023.

External links

• Testimony to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission