Johnathan Paoli
The Pahad family spokesperson, Dr Fazel Randera, has confirmed that anti-Apartheid veteran Aziz Pahad passed away on Wednesday evening at the age of 82.
Pahad is the younger brother of Essop Pahad who passed away recently. Both brothers come from a family that was involved in the Transvaal Indian Congress. And both ended up in exile where they worked for the ANC and were very close to former President Thabo Mbeki.
In his exile days Aziz Pahad was elected to the party’s National Executive Committee in 1985 in Kabwe, Zambia.
He was also a member of the National Peace Executive Committee during the peace negotiations in South Africa, and served on the Transitional Executive Council’s subcommittee on foreign affairs during the post-apartheid transition of 1994.
In post-apartheid elections, Pahad was elected to represent the ANC in the new National Assembly and appointed to the Government of National Unity as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs by newly elected President Nelson Mandela.
Pahad’s influence in the government expanded further under Mbeki, playing a prominent role in South Africa’s attempt to stop the US-led attack on Iraq in 2003.
He represented the country at the International Court of Justice in 2004, when South Africa argued strongly against the erection of the Israeli West Bank barrier.
In Africa, Pahad played an active role in bringing peace to the warring factions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Angola; and visited Saudi Arabia in March 2006 to promote bilateral political and economic relations between the two countries.
In the aftermath of President Mbeki’s resignation as national President, Pahad was one of several ministers and deputy ministers who tendered their own resignation on 23 September 2008.
However, Pahad remained active in South African foreign policy; with President Jacob Zuma appointing him as envoy to Israel and Palestine in July 2014, and under the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Pahad chaired a foreign policy review commission that recommended a more active leadership role for South Africa in global affairs.
Dr Randera described Pahad as a patriot, freedom fighter and a servant of the people.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula described Pahad’s passing as a sad and sombre moment for the movement.
“May his revolutionary spirit continue to inspire our efforts to rebuild and renew our movement, especially in the light of the epic battle we face in the 2024 elections,” Mbalula said
He is survived by his wife Angina, brother, children, his granddaughter, and extended family members.
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