Hanef Bhamjee: Tributes as anti-apartheid campaigner dies

Hanef Bhamjee was awarded an OBE for his fight against apartheid

Tributes have been paid to a life-long anti-apartheid campaigner who has died.

Hanef Bhamjee, of Cardiff, was born in apartheid-era South Africa and campaigned against its whites-only rule from the age of 10.

He fled in South Africa for the UK in the 1960s because of his involvement in the student wing of the African National Congress.

Paying tribute, Lord Hain described Mr Bhamjee as a legend.

Hanef Bhamjee with Nelson Mandela

"He was indefatigable in leading and sustaining the anti-apartheid movement in Wales," he told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement.

"He had lived in Cardiff for decades having left South Africa in difficult circumstances.

"He was a legend who led the Wales anti-apartheid movement with great verve and distinction and for everyone involved was regarded as a total legend."

Senedd member Mick Antoniw said Mr Bhamjee, originally from Marikana, had been in hospital recently having been ill for a number of years.

"He looked like he was making a recovery but the repeated strains on his body perhaps became too much," he said.

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For decades Mr Bhamjee ran the Wales Anti-Apartheid Movement from his home, with the help of volunteers.

The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu (L) and Hanef Bhamjee (R)

That organisation, succeeded by Action for South Africa Wales, campaigned vigorously for an end to racism, colonialism and apartheid in South Africa.

"In the 80s he obtained political asylum in the UK because he could not go back to South Africa," Mr Antoniw said.

Shavanah Taj, general secretary of Wales TUC, said he had been "very active in Welsh Labour politics".

And Senedd member Rhianon Passmore said he was a "true inspiration to all who knew him".

Mr Bhamjee was the secretary of Action for Southern Africa, formerly the Wales Anti-Apartheid Movement, and knew Nelson Mandela from the age of 15.

A guest when Mandela visited Wales, Mr Bhamjee said at the time: "Nelson Mandela has a special place in the hearts of Welsh people. The anti-apartheid campaign was always very strong here, possibly stronger than in any other part of Britain."

Mr Bhamjee was later awarded an OBE for race relations in recognition of his life-long fight against apartheid.

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