SACP Announces the Death of Chairman Yusuf Dadoo
On the morning of 20 September 1983, the South African Communist Party (SACP) announced the passing on of its Chairman and political activist, Dr Yusuf Mohomed Dadoo, who 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. 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, Inkosi 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. The word “Isitwalandwe” means “the one who wears the plumes of the rare bird”, and the honour was traditionally bestowed on those brave warriors who had distinguished themselves in the eyes of all the people for exceptional qualities of leadership and heroism.
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was banned from attending gatherings for a further five years, and in 1959 he was arrested at Howick, Natal, under outdated immigration laws which banned the movement of In
