Who was Dr. Aadil Moerat?
Family portrait of Dr. Aadil Moerat
Dr Aadil Moerat was born on 2 August 1964. He was just 33 years old when he was murdered. The youngest of three children, he was raised by his parents who were both teachers.
He enjoyed learning, achieving top marks each year. He obtained a first class pass in his final year at South Peninsula High School (SP), a school whose teachers were active in anti-apartheid activities and who encouraged political awareness and critical thinking. Aadil’s journey as a leader began in his teens when he became editor of the school magazine, Speak Up, in 1980. In 1981 he was elected to the Student Representative Council and was also part of a group that raised funds to purchase books by Black authors for the school library – because of the unequal, oppressive education system under apartheid, this was an act of resistance.
He also represented his school in swimming competitions and continued to enjoy being physically active in later years.
Between 1982 and 1987 Aadil attended the University of Cape Town where he obtained an MBChB degree. These were turbulent years and while Aadil pursued his studies, his sense of justice compelled him to immerse himself in political activity. In 1983 he was part of the formation of the Cape Youth Congress, an anti-apartheid youth movement that would eventually unite with youth across South Africa. As an activist he courageously participated in many campaigns under the banner of the UDF and later the ANC. He endured arrest and detention without trial in 1986, spending five weeks in Victor Verster Prison. This was a first for a student at UCT’s medical school. As the struggle against apartheid intensified, Aadil saw no other option than to join Umkhonto weSizwe in the hope that the oppressive regime could be brought to its knees by all means.
At university he participated in the activist organisation, National Medical and Dental Association (NAMDA) and the Progressive Primary Care Network Emergency Services Group. They provided support and first aid training in the townships where political unrest was common and victims of police shootings faced the possibility of being arrested if they sought medical attention at public clinics or hospitals. Undoubtedly, these encounters shaped Aadil’s thinking about justice and community healthcare.
Supported by his close companion and wife, Rashida Hayat, in 1988 he relocated to complete his internship at Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth. He elected to stay on for a further two years during which time he was known to provide free medical care to former political prisoners such as Govan Mbeki. Thereafter they lived in Canada for two years where Aadil briefly filled in as a locum at Saskatchewan’s North Battleford Hospital. Upon his return to Cape Town, Aadil was a locum for Dr E. Akoojee.
After a stint in Nyanga, Aadil was certain he wanted to set up rooms as a General Practitioner where the need was great. In 1993 he refurbished a disused store on NY110 in Gugulethu where he became known as the people’s doctor because he never turned anyone away when they could not afford to pay. He had a particular bond with his elderly patients. He also attempted to provide transport to patients in need as part of his ambition to offer comprehensive care to the community as a whole.
On 21 January 1998 at around 6 pm, three armed men robbed him of R60 and killed him at his rooms, despite Aadil’s willingness to give them whatever they might want to take. The community co-operated with the police investigation and turned in an 18-year-old. As a result, five people were arrested days later and eventually sent to jail for the crime.
Dr Aadil Moerat advocated for universal access to healthcare. He was negotiating the establishment of a primary care clinic with some local colleagues to give the community easy access to reasonably priced healthcare at the time of his untimely passing.
On 3 October 2012, UCT Medical School renamed this conference room in Aadil’s honour. Streets have been named after Aadil in Mitchell’s Plain and Gugulethu, to preserve his memory.
In 2020 The Dr Aadil Moerat Medical Bursary Trust was registered to promote his legacy by supporting financially needy health sciences students who share his commitment to serving the community.
On October 3 2012 the Faculty of Health Sciences UCT honoured his memory by renaming Conference Room 3 – located in the Barnard Fuller Building on the Faculty of Health Sciences Campus – as the Dr Aadil Moerat Room.