Achmat set fire to his school in Salt River in support of the 1976 student protests and was imprisoned several times during his youth for political activities . He joined the African National Congress ( ANC ) in 1980 while serving time in prison . Between 1985 and 1990 he was a member of the Marxist Workers Tendency of the ANC , a Trotskyist breakaway group of the ANC and precursor to the Democratic Socialist Movement
1976 student protests
Soweto uprising
Zackie Achmat