Imam Haron: Remembering the day of his detention 50 years ago

Imam Abdullah Haron was arrested 50 years ago, on May 28, 1969. To mark the day, two of his children, ex-detainees, family members, supporters and leaders of various religious groups gathered in front of Cape Town Central Police Station, then known as Caledon Square. This is where Imam Haron was held and questioned after his arrest. Two of Imam’s three children (the eldest, Shamela Shamis, lives in the UK), were joined by (from left): Zainal Makda, Imam Haron’s niece; Imam Achmad Cassiem, ex-political prisoner and close family friend; the Imam’s only son, Professor Muhammed Haron; Advocate Michael Donen, who appeared for a number of political prisoners during the apartheid era; Shaikh Sa’dullah Khan, who led the group in prayer; the Imam’s younger daughter, Fatiema Haron-Masoet; ex-political prisoner, Yusuf Patel; Brigadier Hansia Hansraj, station commander of Cape Town Central Police Station; Cassiem Khan, co-ordinator of the Imam Haron Commemoration Committee (partly obscured); Father Michael Lapsley, a social justice activist who lost his hand in a letter bomb attack by covert forces of the apartheid regime; and Imam Dr Rashied Omar, imam of Claremont Main Road Mosque. In an address after the prayer, Brigadier Hansraj acknowledged that it was through the sacrifices of people like the Imam that she occupies a position where she can make a difference.

Photo TOYER NAKIDIEN