Oliver Tambo

Oliver Tambo was born on 27 October 1917 in the village of Nkantolo in Bizana; eastern Pondoland in what is now the Eastern Cape. The village Tambo was born in was made up mostly of farmers. His father, Mzimeni Tambo, was the son of a farmer and an assistant salesperson at a local trading store. Mzimeni had four wives and ten children, all of whom were literate. Oliver's mother, Mzimeni's third wife, was called Julia.

Tambo graduated in 1938 as one of the top students. After this, Tambo was admitted to the University of Fort Hare but in 1940 he, along with several others including Nelson Mandela, was expelled for participating in a student strike. In 1942, Tambo returned to his former high school in Johannesburg to teach science and mathematics.

In 1944, along with Nelson Mandela, and Walter Sisulu, Tambo founded the ANC Youth League, with Tambo becoming its first National Secretary and a member of the National Executive in 1948. The Youth League proposed a change in the tactics of the anti-apartheid movement. Previously, the ANC had sought to further its cause by actions such as petitions and demonstrations; the Youth League felt these actions were insufficient to achieve the group's goals and proposed their own "Program of Action". This program advocated tactics such as boycotts, civil disobedience, strikes, and non-collaboration.

Tambo being greeted on arrival in East Germany (1978)

In 1955, Tambo became Secretary-general of the ANC after Sisulu was banned by the South African government under the Suppression of Communism Act. In 1958, he became Deputy President of the ANC and in 1959 was served with a five-year banning order by the government.

In response, Tambo was sent abroad by the ANC to mobilize opposition to apartheid on 21 March 1960.[1] He settled with his family in Muswell Hill, north London, where he lived until 1990. His exile took a toll on him not seeing his wife and three children, but his wife Adelaide supported the ANC at home by taking in ANC members arriving from the UK.[2]

In 1967, Tambo became Acting President of the ANC, following the death of Chief Albert Lutuli. He sought to keep the ANC together even after he was exiled from South Africa. Due to his skillful lobbying, he was able to attract talented South African exiles, one of them being Thabo Mbeki.

On 30 December 1979 in [Lusaka], Zambia, Tambo as president and Alfred Nzo, then secretary-general of the ANC, met Tim Jenkin, Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris, ANC members and escapees from incarceration at Phillip Kgosi Prison as political prisoners. Their presence was officially announced by the ANC in early January and Tambo introduced them at a press conference on 2 January 1980.[3]

Tambo was directly responsible for organizing active guerilla units. Along with his comrades Nelson Mandela,Joe Slovo, and Walter Sisulu, Tambo directed and facilitated several attacks against the South African public. In a 1985 interview, Tambo was quoted as saying, "In the past, we were saying the ANC will not deliberately take innocent life, but now, looking at what is happening in South Africa, it is difficult to say civilians are not going to die."[4]

The post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in between 1978 and 1979 identified Tambo as the person who gave final approval for the 20 May 1983 Church Street bombing, which resulted in the death of 19 people and injuries to 197–217 people.[5][6] The attack was orchestrated by a special operations unit of the ANC's Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), commanded by Aboobaker Ismail. Such units had been authorized by Tambo as President of the ANC in 1979. At the time of the attack, they reported to Joe Slovo as chief of staff.

The ANC's submission said that the bombing was in response to a South African cross-border raid into Lesotho in December 1982 which killed 42 ANC supporters and civilians, and the assassination of Ruth First, an ANC activist and wife of Joe Slovo, in Maputo, Mozambique. It claimed that 11 of the casualties were SADF personnel and hence a military target. The legal representative of some of the victims argued that as they were administrative staff, including telephonists and typists, they could not be considered a legitimate military target.

Ten MK operatives, including Ismail, applied for amnesty for this and other bombings. The applications were opposed on various grounds, including that it was a terrorist attack disproportionate to the political motive. The TRC found that the number of civilians versus military personnel killed was unclear. South African Police statistics indicated that seven members of the SADF were killed. The commission found that at least 84 of the injured were SADF members or employees. Amnesty was granted by the TRC.[7]

In 1985, he was re-elected President of the ANC.

He returned to South Africa on 13 December 1990 after over 30 years in exile.[8][9][10] He was able to return to South Africa because of the legalization of the ANC.[11] When he returned after his time in exile he received much support. Some of that support even came from old rivals.[12] However, because of his stroke in 1989, it was harder for him to fulfill his duties as President of the ANC, so in 1991, at the ANC's 48th National Conference, Nelson Mandela took over as president of the ANC. When he stepped down as president, however, the congress created a special position for him as the National Chairman.[13]

After suffering complications following a stroke, Tambo died on 24 April 1993, at the age of 75. His death came 14 days after Chris Hani's assassination and one year before the 1994 general election in which Nelson Mandela became President. Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Walter Sisulu and other prominent politicians attended the funeral. Tambo was buried in Benoni, Gauteng.

• Baai, Gladstone Sandi (2006): Oliver Reginald Tambo: Teacher, Lawyer & Freedom Fighter, Houghton(South Africa): Mutloatse Arts Heritage Trust.
• Callinicos, L. (2004). Oliver Tambo: Beyond the Engeli Mountains. Claremont, South Africa: David Philip.
• Pallo Jordan, Z. (2007): Oliver Tambo Remembered, Johannesburg: Pan Macmillan.
• Tambo, O., & Reddy, E. S. (1987): Oliver Tambo and the Struggle against Apartheid, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, in collaboration with the Namedia Foundation.
• Tambo, Oliver & Tambo, Adelaide (1988): Preparing for Power: Oliver Tambo Speaks, New York: G. Braziller, ©1987.
• Tambo, O., & Reddy, E. S.(1991): Oliver Tambo, Apartheid and the International Community: Addresses to United Nations Committees and Conferences, New Delhi: Namedia Foundation: Sterling Publishers.
• Van Wyk, Chris (2003): Oliver Tambo. Gallo Manor, South Africa: Awareness Pub. Learning African history freedom fighters series.