[2] His father was Clements Kadalie, who was regarded as the most important black trade unionist of the period; born in the British Central Africa Protectorate, he founded the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union in Cape Town in 1919.
In addition, when the apartheid-era Group Areas Act resulted in the forced removals of Coloured parishioners from District Six, Kadalie expanded the City Mission to the Cape Flats in 1975.
[3] In 1950, Kadalie married Joan Francis, a mixed-race woman whom he had met during his time as a musician in District Six and who converted to Christianity with him.
[2] The family lived in Bloemhof Flats in District Six until 1961, when the City of Cape Town promoted Kadalie to a job in the white suburb of Mowbray.
[4] On Freedom Day in April 2012, President Jacob Zuma admitted him to the Order of Luthuli,[6] giving him the award in Silver for "His exceptional contribution to society, and his dedicated service to the community of District Six and the Cape Flats through his ministry, which took care of the poor and the marginalised.