Ismail Ayob, a key figure in South Africa's anti-apartheid Struggle, dies at 83

Ismail Ayob, the renowned South African lawyer who played a pivotal role in representing Nelson Mandela and numerous anti-apartheid activists, has died at the age of 83 in Johannesburg.

Throughout his distinguished legal career spanning over five decades, Ayob became known as one of the most significant attorneys during South Africa's Struggle against apartheid, serving as the personal legal counsel to both Nelson Mandela during his imprisonment and to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela for many years.

Ayob represented Mandela during his imprisonment in the 1970s and in various matters after his release.

During Mandela’s incarceration, Ayob was the only lawyer allowed to visit him at Robben Island and served as his personal lawyer for many years, also representing Madikizela-Mandela.

Ayob represented several political prisoners and was also most notably part of the legal team representing the Timol family inquest in 1972.

According to an inscription on the Nelson Mandela Foundation, authored by Padraig O’Malley, Ayob was born in Mafikeng and educated there and in Pretoria.

He became a barrister at Gray's Inn, London, in the late 1960s and then returned to South Africa to do his articles and to practise as an attorney.

“He became Winnie Mandela's lawyer during the 1970s, and later did the same for Nelson Mandela. He was a frequent visitor to Nelson Mandela during his time in prison and became a conduit for messages between Mandela and the ANC in Zambia,” O’Malley’s inscription reads.

In the later stages of Mandela's life, they parted ways following an acrimonious dispute regarding disbursement of monies that had been paid to the Nelson Mandela Trust.

Further details of Ayob's cause of death are not yet known. 

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