Professor Ismail Mohamed passes away

The University of the Witwatersrand has extended its deepest sympathies to the family, friends, colleagues and loved ones of the late Professor Ismail Mahomed, who passed away at the age of 82, on Saturday, 7 July 2013, following a protracted period of illness.

A memorial service will be held in his honour (details to be confirmed) and his funeral will take place on Saturday at St Andrews Church in Coronationville.

Professor Ismail Mohamed served as a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Wits in the 1970s and 1980s, after joining Wits from the University of Roma in Lesotho. He was detained on a number of occasions by the security forces during this period. He served as a member of the first democratically elected parliament in the new government after 1994 and as an ANC parliamentary representative for over two terms.

Vociferously outspoken on human rights violations

The vice-president of the Transvaal branch of the United Democratic Front (UDF), Professor Mahomed campaigned fiercely against the Tricameral Parliament and was vociferously outspoken on human rights violations and the need for the UDF to campaign for democracy. In 1985 he was charged firstly, as part of a group of 16 in what was known as the Pietermaritzburg Treason Trial, and then later in the year as one of the accused in the Delmas Treason Trial.

Professor Mohamed made an important contribution to the university, to the struggle against apartheid, and to the freedom of our country - a freedom which would not have been possible without his steadfast commitment and activism.