South African Communist Party leader, Dr. Yusuf Mahomed Dadoo dies

A political activist and Chairman of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Dr. Yusuf Mahomed Dadoo died on 19 September, 1983, after having lapsed into a coma.The African National Congress (ANC) and SACP held a short ceremony where the ANC President, Oliver Tambo spoke. Dadoo was laid to rest according to Muslim rights at Highgate Cemetery, a few metres away from the grave of Karl Marx. Dadoo was born on 5 September 1909 in Krugersdorp on, Gauteng.

He and others, like P.S. Joshi, were inspired by the growing nationalist movement in India, and in particular the growing resistance to the British in Gujarat State. In June 1955, at the historic Congress of the People, Dadoo, Chief Albert Luthuli and Father Trevor Huddleston were awarded the traditional African decoration of Isitwalandwe/Seaparankoe. As a result of their banning orders only Huddleston was able to attend the award ceremony, and Dadoo's award was accepted on his behalf by his mother. Following this in 1957 Dadoo was banned from attending gatherings for a further five years, and in 1959 he was arrested at Howick, Natal, under outdated immigration laws which banned the movement of Indians from province to province without official permission.