On this day in 1993, anti-apartheid icon Oliver Reginald Tambo died - one year before the collapse of the brutal racist system he’d fought against for most of his life. He’s sometimes referred to as the 'other half' of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) party.
He was born on 27 October 1917, in today's Eastern Cape province in South Africa. He excelled academically and received a scholarship to study sciences and teaching at the University of Fort Hare - the only university that admitted Black students back then. There, he met and befriended a certain Nelson Mandela. The two set up South Africa's first Black-owned law firm and helped launch the ANC's Youth League.
The 1950s saw Tambo rise through the ranks of the ANC - becoming party vice president in 1957. In the aftermath of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, which saw 69 protesters gunned down by the police as they peacefully protested against the draconian Pass Laws, the ANC was banned, so Tambo went into exile and set up operations there. He is credited with holding the liberation movement together during this difficult time, becoming party boss in 1969.
In the late '80s, the regime reluctantly came to the negotiating table after losses on the battlefield in Angola, and under the pressure of international sanctions. Tambo led the talks, which ultimately resulted in the unbanning of the ANC and the release of political prisoners - including Mandela in 1990. That year, Tambo returned to his homeland.
He'd suffered a stroke in 1989, and in 1991 - as his health continued to deteriorate - he handed over the leadership of the party to Mandela. However, Tambo continued to serve as a source of wise counsel to the ANC till his death. Long live the revolutionary spirit of Oliver Tambo!
Ahmed Kaballo
On this day in 1993, anti-apartheid icon Oliver Reginald Tambo died - one year before the collapse of the brutal racist system he’d fought against for most of his life. He’s sometimes referred to as the 'other half' of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) party.
He was born on 27 October 1917, in today's Eastern Cape province in South Africa. He excelled academically and received a scholarship to study sciences and teaching at the University of Fort Hare - the only university that admitted Black students back then. There, he met and befriended a certain Nelson Mandela. The two set up South Africa's first Black-owned law firm and helped launch the ANC's Youth League.
The 1950s saw Tambo rise through the ranks of the ANC - becoming party vice president in 1957. In the aftermath of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, which saw 69 protesters gunned down by the police as they peacefully protested against the draconian Pass Laws, the ANC was banned, so Tambo went into exile and set up operations there. He is credited with holding the liberation movement together during this difficult time, becoming party boss in 1969.
In the late '80s, the regime reluctantly came to the negotiating table after losses on the battlefield in Angola, and under the pressure of international sanctions. Tambo led the talks, which ultimately resulted in the unbanning of the ANC and the release of political prisoners - including Mandela in 1990. That year, Tambo returned to his homeland.
He'd suffered a stroke in 1989, and in 1991 - as his health continued to deteriorate - he handed over the leadership of the party to Mandela. However, Tambo continued to serve as a source of wise counsel to the ANC till his death. Long live the revolutionary spirit of Oliver Tambo!
#OliverTambo
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