according to Muslim rites.
Salim Gabba adds, “We found out that ghusalwas to be given at the Newtown Mosque. I remember Yusuf ‘Tara’ Seedat holding Ahmed’s head. They said that Ahmed had died from a fall. It was clear that his neck was broken as his head was just falling back. I saw clearly that Ahmed’s fingernails were taken out and his elbows were burnt.”
After the Friday prayers were performed at Newtown Mosque, Ahmed’s body was placed in a coffin and driven by Mohammed Khan in the Muslim hearse to the Timol flat.
At the Roodepoort Mosque, the owner of AG Ally, who was a close friend of Haji Timol, stood up and requested that the local businessmen close their shops as a tribute to Ahmed.
In the Timol flat women read from the Quran and prayed around Ahmed’s coffin. Family and friends insisted that Hawa not see Ahmed’s body. They could not stop her. It was her son.
The surrounding balconies on Mare Street were full of people. The funeral was attended by several thousand Muslims from all parts of the Transvaal. Many schoolchildren, including Ahmed’s pupils from the Roodepoort Indian High School, were present. Several white university students also mingled with the crowd. Residents of Roodepoort say it was one of the biggest funerals ever seen on the West Rand. Images of the procession survive in the newspapers of the time.
The entire community was convulsed by Ahmed’s fate.
Ahmed’s face was shown to the public before leaving for the cemetery near Main Reef Road.
Faruq Varachia says, “Ahmed’s death hit me like a lightning bolt. I never felt anything like that before. I was overcome with some real anger. Since I could do little against the cruel regime at that moment we felt that somehow we had to show our anger, our sorrow and our loss to the rest of the world. While making Ahmed’s funeral arrangements I clearly remember how a few of us gathered around and spontaneously decided that we are going to carry Ahmed’s body from his home, through the main streets of Roodepoort right through the ‘white’ part of town.
This is the only way we could show the world what their system had done to Ahmed. It was also decided at that moment to open Ahmed’s janaazah (coffin) and show to the world how they had tortured and disfigured him.”
Stern-faced or crying, the community had filed past the bier for a last glimpse of Ahmed Timol, clad in his white funeral kaffan(burial shroud) with his face exposed. The coffin was taken by hearse to the cemetery, about three kilometres away. Men, schoolchildren and students followed the hearse on foot. Traffic police escorted the procession and many shops along the route stopped trading as the procession passed. The mourners passed the police station and chain stores in the centre of Roodepoort. The police were taken by surprise at the large turnout of mourners. Roodepoort was brought to a standstill. All Indian businesses in Roodepoort closed as a mark of respect.
Khudeja Choonara (now Pochee) recalls, “Even though I was only eight years
old at the time of Ahmed’s death, I remember it in all its detail, from the time his body was lifted from the house that he laid in for the last time, to the long trail of schoolchildren behind the hearse walking towards the cemetery, crying at the loss of a great teacher and mentor.
“My earliest memory of Ahmed Timol is one of a tall, young man with jet- black hair, soft spoken and articulate in his speech. Ahmed, whom we called Uncle Ahmed, always had kind words to say to us every time he passed us by. He always laughed and joked and made us feel special. I have memories of a lovely blue tea set that he placed on my lap one Eid morning. Just before being detained he had promised my brother and I that he would be taking us to the zoo that weekend.
Fate would have it another way and we never got the opportunity to share that day with him.
“We salute you, Ahmed Timol,” Khudeja continues, “you were not only a brave soldier fighting for your country, but you were my neighbour as well as my friend.
If you were alive today we know that you would have been playing a role in the reconstruction of our country and you would have done a good job of it too. You taught us what courage in the face of adversity was, and how to stand up to your enemies even if death was standing at your door. You have given up your life so that we today could reap the fruits of freedom.”
There was a heavy police presence on the day of the funeral. Family members reported that the police were also present at the cemetery and were even taking photographs of Ahmed’s body as it was lowered into the grave. The funeral was so big that as the body arrived at the qabrastaan(cemetery), people were still at the flat. It was practically impossible to control the crowds, and loudspeakers were not easily available at that time. Thejanaazah(funeral prayers) were performed on the grass outside the cemetery.
The procession stopped on open ground outside the cemetery for a short prayer. Roodepoort Imam Molvi Osman Poothawala was scheduled to lead the prayer. However, Ahmed’s father, Haji Timol, led the congregation in the final prayer before Ahmed was laid to rest.
The Saturday Star, dated 30 October 1971, reported the funeral as a mere inconvenience to the whites of Roodepoort: “Impatient motorists leaned on their hooters as a seemingly endless stream of white-capped Indians held up traffic for more than a dozen blocks at a time in Roodepoort. Schoolgirls pressing handkerchiefs to their faces, T-shirted whites engaged in serious talk with immaculately dressed Muslims – they all formed part of the 1 500 mourners following the hearse of Ahmed Timol. After a 3km trek, the green velvet bier with its golden tassles was lifted from the hearse outside the Roodepoort Muslim cemetery. Shoulder-high, hand by hand, it was passed through the crowd. When the congregation broke into mass prayer, loud sobbing rose from the ranks of children whom Mr Timol had taught up to last week.” The Stararticle vividly brings out the stark divide between the grief of those who knew Ahmed and the historically privileged who resented that grief for clogging the roads.
The chant of “Allah is great and Muhammad is his Prophet” was heard as
Ahmed Timol’s body was laid to rest.
Hamid “Timer” Vally recalls that it was a hot cloudless summer’s afternoon when they carried Ahmed’s bier from the flat. Timer recalls witnessing a single cloud popping over in the cemetery and following the procession. They proceeded to the qabrastaan and the necessary funeral rituals were carried out, the final prayers were performed and then there was a heavy thundershower. Timer was convinced that Almighty Allah had accepted Ahmed as a shayeed(martyr) freedom fighter for the oppressed people of this country. “The rain was a blessing as it suddenly came upon us from nowhere and Allah had accepted Ahmed as a martyr.
About 1 km away from the qabrastaan it was bone dry. Allah had recognised Ahmed’s sacrifice and the oppressive government of the day was responsible for taking Ahmed’s life. Ahmed deserves to be in Paradise.”
AFTERMATH
During the month of Ramadan, Haji Timol sat in ittikaaf(the state of seclusion during the last 10 days of Ramadan). The torment of the Security Police would still not cease. They continued to visit Hawa and to pester her and her family. Not satisfied after killing Ahmed, the Security Branch members now wanted to enlist his brother, Mohammed, to work for them.
Aysha would walk from the flat to the mosque followed by the Security Branch members in their car. She refused to sit in the car with them. She would shout out to Haji Timol to come out, as the police attempted to get him to sign papers agreeing to working with the police. Haji Timol responded by saying that he would think about it but obviously they could never submit to their remaining son working for an oppressive system that had already murdered their other son. The police showed utter contempt towards the religion of Islam and the holy month of Ramadan. Eventually, on 14 March, police released Ahmed’s younger brother Mohammed.
Yunus Moola (Ahmed’s cousin) recalls that as the month of Ramadan came to an end, there was a knock on their door late one evening. “My parents were afraid and hesitant to open the door as they suspected that it was the Security Police. This was the fear and anxiety that the police had caused in the community.” Yunus finally opened the door, and it was someone from the community who had come to announce that the moon had been sighted and that it was Eid.
“After Ahmed’s funeral, police questioned everyone associated with him,” says Timer. “This was a frightening experience and it was the reality of the time. It was difficult to assess how many informers there were in the community.” Timer is left with one abiding thought: those responsible for informing on Ahmed, and subsequently for his death, are yet to meet their Creator and account for their deeds.
“Ahmed was a good human being who had given his life for humanity. He dedicated his life to a humanitarian cause. His death had a profound impact on my life.”
Ebrahim and Choti Choonara, neighbours of the Timol family, narrate that relatives of the Timol family from the rural areas of the Eastern Transvaal would come to the flat to sympathise and provide support to the family. They would
break their fasts in the Choonara flat. Ebrahim remembers one of the family members mentioning how helpful the Choonaras were to the Timol family. All the neighbours opened their doors to the Timol family.
The day after Ahmed’s funeral, Ebrahim remembers a heavy storm in Roodepoort. The downpour was so heavy that the ceilings caved in at their flat.
There were residents who questioned Ahmed’s activities and some wanted to know what Ahmed had achieved. How was his death going to assist them? This was unfortunately the attitude of some of the residents of Roodepoort. Choti reminded them that Ahmed could have left the country, but he was prepared to sacrifice his life for the oppressed people of this country and in the long term they would reap the benefits of Ahmed’s ultimate sacrifice. Ebrahim and Choti’s hearts would cry out to Hawa and the family. What did she as a mother go through? Allah must grant Ahmed paradise and Ebrahim pondered as to what torture Ahmed had to endure before his death.
The Security Branch continued to harass the Timol family. They would visit the flat and search all the dustbins. They would continue to question Hawa and would work on her nerves by asking the silliest of questions. They showed no remorse or sympathy towards the family. Hawa would call upon Choti as a means of support. Rumours would spread that the police were going to be raiding. The family and the community were literally terrorised. It was well known that there were informers in the community.
Ebrahim Choonara recalls, “At a prayer service that was held at the flat after the funeral, people sympathised and showed compassion towards the Timol family.
Ahmed was a martyr and had given his life for the betterment of his people.”
Ebrahim once mentioned to a white person that the white community of South Africa must be thankful to Comrade Mandela for forgiving them for what they had done. After hearing about Ahmed’s death, Ebrahim mentions that if he had obtained a machine-gun, he would have killed any white person he saw.
Beyond terrorised Roodepoort, visible support for the Timol family was overwhelming with the majority of South Africans – irrespective of their race, denomination or political affiliation – demanding a public enquiry. On 28 October 1971 about 200 students at the Transvaal College of Education for Indians in Fordsburg held an hour-long silent sit-in before noon to mourn the death of Ahmed Timol. Students staged a spontaneous walkout of lectures shortly after 10 am. At about 11 am 200 of the 250 students at the college, most wearing black armbands, sat down in the grounds of the college.
Pupils at the Nirvana High School in Lenasia staged a protest sit-in over the death. Ahmed had taught many of them at the Roodepoort Indian High School before they moved to Nirvana School in Lenasia. Ahmed was regarded as a very intelligent man and a popular teacher.
Calls were made by students and academic movements for a commission of inquiry at students’ mass meetings at the Johannesburg College of Education and at the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School. A Presbyterian minister, the Reverend Ian Thompson, told the meeting that no reasonable person could
any longer doubt that violence was being done to detainees.
Eighty-seven third-year students at Wits Medical School had signed a statement sent to the Starprotesting against the detention of their colleague, Salim Essop. Five hundred lecturers and staff of the Durban and Maritzburg campuses of the University of Natal had passed a resolution calling on the minister of justice, PC Pelser, “to bring those detained to trial by conventional processes of justice, and to respond to widespread public demand for the appointment of a judicial commission to inquire into the treatment of prisoners held under detention laws”.
At a meeting attended by more than 1 500 people in the Great Hall of the University of the Witwatersrand, poet and journalist Don Mattera said: “It is because of the laws of this country that my brothers on Robben Island beat against the battered breast of liberty.” Another speaker at the meeting called for the total scrapping of the Terrorism Act and said that the long-term solution to the critical situation on South Africa’s borders which was supposed to make the Act necessary was to create “such conditions of life in South Africa that all men, black, brown and white, would be proud to live here in freedom”.
The vice-chancellor of Witwatersrand University, Dr GR Bozzoli, and the university’s Academic Staff Association also protested against the detention of five of the university’s students.
The National Union of Students (NUS) of the United Kingdom sent the following telegram to the family of Ahmed Timol: “We extend our deepest sympathy on the death of Ahmed, victim of a brutal regime. Representing half a million students we honour him and continue the struggle against South African repression.”
The annual conference of NUS had sent a telegram to Prime Minister Vorster condemning the detention and death of Ahmed Timol, condemning the detention of other South African students and calling for the release of all political prisoners.
The North London Association of the National Union of Teachers, of which Ahmed Timol was a member when he was in Britain, passed the following resolution: “This North London Association of the National Union of Teachers deplores the death of Mr. Ahmed Timol, formerly a member of the NUT, and demands that the South African government make an official public inquiry into the circumstances of his death. It also demands the release of other political detainees in South Africa. Furthermore it recommends that the National Executive of the NUT instructs its members to uphold the academic boycott of South Africa.”
Resolutions condemning Ahmed Timol’s death were also to be discussed at meetings of the Westminster, Hackney and Wandsworth NUT Associations. The Anti-Apartheid Movement asked individual supporters and sympathetic organisations to send letters and telegrams to Prime Minister Vorster deploring the death of Ahmed Timol and calling for the release of other detainees.
The religious denominations responded to Ahmed’s death. More than 3 000 people packed the Juma Mosque in Durban to offer a special prayer on his death.
The Reverend Bernard Wrankmore, who had just ended a 64-day protest fast over the death of the Imam Haron, expressed his shock at the death of Ahmed. The
Anglican priest said: “I am deeply shocked that another life has been lost and naturally hope that the matter will be thoroughly investigated. But there is nothing more that I can do actively anymore as God has removed me from the scene and has now taken over ... It is now up to the public, the newspapers, the churches and all the people who asked that I come off the hill and that they should do something themselves to show their mettle.”
The Chief Rabbi of the United Progressive Jewish Congregation in Johannesburg, Dr AS Super, said many rabbis had addressed their congregations on the subject of the detainees at that night’s services.
Leading Johannesburg churchmen reiterated their call for a judicial inquiry into deaths of police detainees. They expressed their shock and amazement at news that an Indian detainee had fallen to his death from a 10th floor window at John Vorster Square.
An appeal was made to all denominations to attend a prayer meeting in Johannesburg comemorating Ahmed’s death in detention. It stated: “The hour- long meeting will begin at 2pm at the Indian Sports Ground in Vrededorp, near the corner of Krause and 17th streets. We especially appeal to other members of the community to come along – they will be most welcome,” said Mrs M Coovadia, a member of the Johannesburg Muslim community. She said that although Muslim men and women did not normally pray together they would do so at this event because of the special nature of the occasion.
In Cape Town, Cardinal Owen McCann, Catholic archbishop of Cape Town, called for an immediate public inquiry into Ahmed’s death. He announced that there would be a night vigil prayer in St Mary’s Cathedral, Cape Town. The Christian Institute called on all South Africans to observe a day of prayer, penitence and denial to show their concern over detention without trial, and Timol’s death.
A special call was made to the people of Pretoria to observe a day of prayer and penitence between 6 pm on Monday and 6 pm on Tuesday. The call was made, after a meeting in Pretoria, by representatives of the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Methodist churches. The Anglican dean of Pretoria, the Very Reverend Mark Nye, said the meeting had been “very deeply concerned” at the death of Timol and the illness in detention of Salim Essop.
Speaking at a prayer meeting in Johannesburg which 1 200 people attended, Miley Richards, a leader of the Coloured Labour Party, said: “We are all being challenged. It is time for us to stand up and be counted. Are we just going to sit down and pray? God will not answer my prayers if I don’t take positive action.”
In Durban, a packed meeting of all races called for a national day of mourning which was observed on 10 November, when very large numbers of black-owned shops closed and students and schoolchildren stayed away from schools. The anger of the people was summed up by I Bhagwandeen, an executive member of the Natal Indian Congress, when he told the Durban meeting: “If we have to pay the final penalty that Ahmed Timol paid, let us pay it.”
Political parties also responded to Ahmed’s death.