The Nelson Mandela Foundation, Trustees and Staff send sincere condolences to the Dinat and Naidoo families on the passing of Ismail “Issy” Dinat on 8 December 2015.
Issy Dinat met Madiba on a few occasions after he returned from exile in 1992. Issy was married to Ramnie from the Naidoo family of Doornfontein whose home Madiba frequented before his arrest and incarceration in 1962.
Issy joined the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress (TIYC) in the 1950s and served as joint secretary with Indres Naidoo. In the early 1960s he was active in the South African Communist Party (SACP) and was detained and tortured on a few occasions.
In 1966 he was instructed to leave the country and made his way to London where he stayed initially with Paul and Adelaide Joseph. His wife Ramnie, daughter, Natalya and son, Sean joined him a year later.
Issy and Ramnie returned to South Africa in 1992 and became active in the ANCs Kagiso Branch and helped established the ANC Azaadville branch. After the democratic local government elections Issy was elected as councillar and later served as the Town Clerk of Krugersdorp. He retired in 2001.
Hamba kahle Issy.
The Dinat family, pictured with Madiba