Sam Kahn

From 1943 to 1952, he was a member of Cape Town

Sam studied for a bachelor's degree in Greek and Latin at the

Sam Kahn also worked in a legal practice in downtown Cape Town for approximately 20 years, whilst simultaneously pursuing his political career. Popular amongst Africans, he defended many as clients in the course of his legal work. A member of the Cape Town City Council from 1943 to 1952, he was elected to Parliament by the Africans of the Cape western district in 1949 but was expelled three years later on the grounds that was a Communist.

In 1954 he visited Russia. Prohibited in 1954 from attending gatherings, he was subsequently convicted of violating his ban, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. He left South Africa illegally in 1960 by spiriting himself out of the country in disguise – he grew a beard and dyed it red. This was typical of his sense of humour.

Sam Kahn had an intense dislike for garlic and onions. If there was any trace of either in his food he would ask politely for it do be taken away. This often provoked amusing incidents at restaurants. where Sam would attempt to explain the problem to waiters who, as often as not, had a very poor grasp of the English language. The interchanges, usually lighthearted and often humorous, would go on for 4–5 minutes, and the topic would be; how had the errant material appeared in his food ? It was quite effective as an ice-breaker and a vehicle for Sam's very sophisticated sense of humour;it also allowed Sam to get to know his waiter better – this always fostered good relations better those being served and those doing the serving. Occasionally the discussions got a little bit heated, particularly if the waiter tried to deny the existence of the offending material in his food. While waiting for the food to be served, Sam liked to play noughts and crosses on paper napkins with his charges. Another of his favourite games which he used to pass the time was Animal, Vegetable and Mineral; this was in the days before the advent of the smart phone and one had to use simple devices in order to alleviate the boredom of waiting by playing games using things like pen and paper or speech.

Sam was a marvellous raconteur, one of the last of his generation; he was very entertaining, especially at dinner parties and would have his captive audience either transfixed, or in stitches. His particular forte was humorist jokes with a South African slant, and in particular, he had a vast repertoire of "Van De Merwe" jokes. He particularly liked to recount the joke about the bathroom attendant who became a millionaire ostrich farmer because at his first job interview he admitted that he could not write and lost the job, which turned out to his advantage. Sam's jokes nearly always had a moral sting in their tale which lent substance and an ethical dimension.