The University of Johannesburg’s Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC), in collaboration with Jacana Media, invites you to the launch of Beyond Fear: Reflections of a Freedom Fighter by Ebrahim Ebrahim.

Beyond Fear is the testimony of Ebrahim Ebrahim, a revolutionary amongst revolutionaries, whose poignant and inspirational account of his years spent dedicated to bringing down the apartheid state is told in ways we have not heard.

As one of the founding members of Umkhonto weSizwe, he played a central role in directing the sabotage campaign of the early 1960s. Convicted for this, Ebrahim arrived on Robben Island in 1964, where for over 15 years he played a leadership role in the creation of the ‘University of Robben Island’, the university of revolutionary ideology. Soon after his release, Ebrahim became the head of the ANC’s Political Military Committee in Swaziland, and as such, his life was under constant threat. He was abducted in December 1986 by apartheid agents and taken to South Africa to be tortured at John Vorster Square. He was charged with high treason and sentenced to a further 20 years, which would be his second stint on the Island. Ebrahim was, however, released in February 1991.

Beyond Fear also tells the story of his post-1994 life, where he travelled the world doing international conflict resolution work. He later served as South Africa’s deputy minister of foreign affairs. His great love story began at the age of 63 when he met his beloved Shannon Ebrahim with whom he had two children, who were, as he says his ‘greatest teachers’. Ebrahim Ebrahim passed away on 6 December 2021, having become one of South Africa’s most loved heroes.

Event details

Date: Monday 30 May 2022
Time: 15:30–17:30 (CAT)
Venue: Chinua Achebe Auditorium, Level 6, Kingsway Campus Library, University of Johannesburg
RSVP: Click here to confirm your attendance

Chair:

Dr Odilile Ayodele – Senior Researcher, IPATC, UJ.

Keynote speaker:

Yasmin Sooka – Leading Human Rights Lawyer and the former Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights, Chair of the Commission on Human Rights for South Sudan, and the Foundation or Human Rights Board, SA.

Speakers:

Shannon Ebrahim – Renowned South African Columnist on Foreign Affairs and Group Foreign Editor at Independent Media, SA
Prof. Siphamandla Zondi – Director, IPATC, UJ.

For enquiries, please contact Kamogelo Segone, Research Assistant, at ksegone@uj.ac.za.

Categories Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Beyond Fear Book events Book launches Ebrahim Ebrahim Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation Jacana Media University of Johannesburg