Celebrating history: CTIJF musicians pay tribute at Robben Island

Theolin Tembo|Published 2 hours ago

South Africa - Cape Town - 27 March 2026 - Ahead of the Cape Town International South Africa - Cape Town - 27 March 2026 - Ahead of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, guests, artists and dignitaries were treated to a moving and historic excursion as Dr Iqbal Survé hosted a guided tour of Robben Island on Friday. The visit offered international and local attendees a powerful glimpse into South Africa’s past, with the island, once home to political prisoners including Nelson Mandela, serving as a symbol of resilience and freedom. Blending culture, history and reflection, the tour provided a meaningful prelude to the festival, grounding the celebration of music in the country’s rich and complex heritage. Photographer: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers

Image: Armand Hough

The healing and moving effects of music, along with its inextricable link to a shared humanity, were on full display at a joint initiative hosted by the Robben Island Museum, the Survé Family, and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF).

Attendees gathered on the historic grounds of Robben Island where they heard of the brutality endured there, but also connected and paid tribute through music in the lead-up to the CTIJF.

The exclusive event, Music for a Shared Humanity, included performances by Yussef Dayes, Babalwa Meintjies, accompanied by Cole Krieling, Maria João, and James Mange.

Robben Island holds a profound place in global history as the site where many political prisoners, including former president Nelson Mandela, were incarcerated during the apartheid era. Now, it stands as a symbolic testament to the triumph of human dignity, resilience, and the enduring pursuit of justice.

Image: Armand Hough

IOL Editor, Lance Witten, explained: “As we gather on the historic grounds of Robben Island, we are reminded that this place carries the weight of our history; a place where hardship was endured, yet where the spirit of humanity, unity, and hope could never be extinguished.

“It is here that many of our nation's leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Jacob Zuma, and Kgalema Motlanthe, endured imprisonment, yet emerged with an unbreakable commitment to justice, dignity, and freedom,” Witten said.

“Today, we are reminded that music, like the Struggle for liberation, has the power to unite, to heal, and to transcend even the deepest divides.”

Image: Armand Hough

Chairman of the board of Robben Island Museum, Professor Saths Cooper, said the event marks a historic occasion from sorrow to joy, from incarceration to full liberation.

“While physical liberation exists psychologically and socio-economically, a majority of our people don't benefit from what our president called a birth certificate, our Constitution of this country.

“Indeed, that for which some 7000 prisoners who were incarcerated on Robben Island, their dreams, their desires, are yet to be met. Therefore, it (the event) comes as a great moment that can unleash that spirit,” Cooper said.

Image: Armand Hough

Chairman of the Survé Family Office, Dr Iqbal Survé, shared some reflections from his time with Mandela.

“What we see in the world today, virtually every part of the world, is in war and crisis. Young people are dying, innocent civilians are being affected, and the rhetoric, which is an 'us' and a 'them'. I don't think that helps anyone. When Mandela came out of prison, I had asked him about a couple of months after he was released from Victor Verster Prison, what was the hardest part of being in prison?

“And this is what he said. He said, 'not being captive to someone else's mind'. And I think that is so important. We must remember the past. We must remember the struggles. We must remember everything that we've been through, but we need not be captive to our past.”

“Jazz became incredibly important to us because it just so happens that jazz musicians such as Abdullah Ibrahim, Mariam Makeba, Harry Belafonte, Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Caiphus Semenya, Letta Mbulu, they really spoke to the Struggle and not just the struggle of, not just the struggle of Africa.

“Jazz has always been in the lifeblood of our Struggle. And when we connected with jazz, we connected with the humanity of it," Survé said.

Ahead of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, guests, artists and dignitaries were treated to a moving and historic excursion as Dr Iqbal Survé hosted a guided tour of Robben Island on Friday. The visit offered international and local attendees a powerful glimpse into South Africa’s past, with the island, once home to political prisoners including Nelson Mandela, serving as a symbol of resilience and freedom. Blending culture, history and reflection, the tour provided a meaningful prelude to the festival, grounding the celebration of music in the country’s rich and complex heritage.

Image: Photographer: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers

Chairman of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Rayhaan Survé, while reflecting on both what Cooper and his father said, added: “We have to forgive what's happened in order to heal as a nation, in order to keep going, but also in order to rebuild the relationships that we once had.

“But I would like to add on just a little bit to that, and that is, while we must forgive, we must not forget. We cannot forget what has happened, and that's why we have to have these ceremonies, why we have to celebrate the history.

“We need to invite reflection, we need to invite dialogue, and we have to capture the stories so beautifully that they allow us to move on.”

With candles lit, the room had in a moment of silence to honour all political prisoners who were incarcerated on the island.

In a special moment, musician James Mange, a former political prisoner who was exiled, imprisoned, and even had a death sentence that was later commuted to 20 years on Robben Island, performed his new song named after the island.

Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers