Paul David (activist)

Paul David
Born
Devdas Paul Davis

(1940-08-26)26 August 1940
Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province
Union of South Africa
Died13 August 2020(2020-08-13) (aged 79)
Stanger, KwaZulu-Natal
Known forAnti-apartheid activism

Devdas Paul Davis (26 August 1940 – 13 August 2020) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. A member of the United Democratic Front and Natal Indian Congress, he was one of the Durban Six in 1984 and a defendant in the Pietermaritzburg Treason Trial in 1985.

Biography

David was born on 26 August 1940 in Pietermaritzburg.[1] He attended Verulam High School and studied law at the University of Natal.[1] He joined the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) as a teenager.[1] He was one of nine siblings;[2] his eldest sister, Phyllis Naidoo, and her husband, M. D. Naidoo, were also prominent activists.[1]

He was elected as secretary of the NIC in 1979 and as secretary of the Release Mandela Committee in 1983.[1] In 1984, he was one of the so-called Durban Six who took refuge in the British Consulate in Durban. Upon leaving the consulate in December 1984, he was charged with treason as one of 16 defendants in the Pietermaritzburg Treason Trial.[3] However, the charges against him were dropped in December 1985.[4]

After the end of apartheid, David practiced law and served a stint as a local councillor in Stanger.[5] After a prolonged illness,[6] he died on 13 August 2020 at his daughter's home in Stanger.[1][7][8] Speakers at his memorial service included Frank Chikane, Ela Gandhi, Jerry Coovadia, Lechesa Tsenoli, and Pravin Gordhan.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Paul David". South African History Online. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  2. ^ Vawda, Yousuf (21 August 2020). "Paul David: the once-in-a lifetime type of guy". IOL. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  3. ^ Riveles, Susanne (1989). "Diplomatic Asylum as a Human Right: The Case of the Durban Six". Human Rights Quarterly. 11 (1): 139–159. doi:10.2307/761937. ISSN 0275-0392. JSTOR 761937.
  4. ^ "South Africa Clears 12 of Treason: Charges Against Most Prominent Foes of Apartheid Dropped". Los Angeles Times. 9 December 1985. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  5. ^ Karrim, Azarrah (13 August 2020). "Anti-apartheid veteran Paul David dies". News24. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  6. ^ Rupiah, Kiri (22 August 2020). "Paul David stared down political Goliaths". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Tributes pour in for anti-apartheid icon, Paul David – the last of the 'Consulate Six'". IOL. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Late Paul David described as 'kind of person who took things in his stride'". SABC News. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  9. ^ Karrim, Azarrah (16 August 2020). "'We are not the society we struggled for' – Frank Chikane says at memorial for Paul David". News24. Retrieved 24 June 2024.