Home Our Story Witnesses Contact us X Xoliswa Ndoyiya EARLY YEARS Xoliswa Ndoyiya, who is known across the world as former president Nelson Mandela’s personal and family chef, grew up in Ezibeleni township in Komani. Hers was a typical black household upbringing. She is the fourth of five children, with three older brothers, and working-class […]

Home Our Story Witnesses Contact us X Seth Mazibuko At only sixteen years of age, Seth Mazibuko was the youngest member of the South African Students’ Organisation, which led the 1976 Soweto Uprising. Despite his youth, Seth was one of the most prominent leaders of the uprising. Seth paid a heavy price for his contribution […]

Home Our Story Witnesses Contact us X Antoinette Sithole Perhaps the most famous image depicting the brutality of the Apartheid regime, and the sacrifices of those who struggled against it, is that of 12-year-old Hector Pieterson, who was shot and killed during the 1976 Soweto Uprising. In the now-iconic photograph, Pieterson is carried by another […]

Home Our Story Witnesses Contact us X Christo Brand At the age of nineteen, Christo Brand was sent to Robben Island as a member of the South African prison services. Christo was tasked with guarding the most prominent politcal prisoners on the island, including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, and Ahmed Kathrada. During this […]

Home Our Story Witnesses Contact us X Igshaan Amlay Igshaan Amlay was the youngest of the Wynberg Seven, a group of seven school students arrested during student protests in Wynberg in 1985. All seven were convicted of public violence and sent to the infamous Pollsmoor Prision, where they were housed amongst some of South Africa’s […]

Home Our Story Contact Us X Yasien Mohamed At the age of 17, Yasien Mohamed joined the struggle against Apartheid, working tirelessly to end the racially oppressive regime under which South Africans suffered. When Robben Island was declared a museum in 1996, Yasien was one of the very first guides to work for the museum. […]