Oliver Tambo

Oliver Tambo
Born (1917-10-27)27 October 1917
Nkantolo, Bizana, South Africa
Died 24 April 1993(1993-04-24) (aged 75)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Other names "O.R."
Occupation Teacher and lawyer
Known for President of the African National Congress
Spouse(s) Adelaide Tambo
Children Dali Tambo (son), Tselane Tambo (daughter), Thembi Tambo (daughter), Oliver Jnr , Ayabulela Tambo (granddaughter)

Oliver Reginald Kaizana (OR) Tambo (27 October 1917 – 24 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991.

Early life

Tambo was born on 27 October 1917 in the village of Nkantolo in Bizana in eastern Pondoland in what is now the Eastern Cape. 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 illiterate. His mother, Mzimeni's third wife, was called Julia.[1] He attended a school at Holy Cross Mission with his brother in April 1928, and then transferred to St. Peter's in Johannesburg. 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.

Tambo, Mandela and Walter Sisulu were the founding members of the ANC Youth League in 1943, 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 'Programme of Action'. This programme 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. He settled with his family in Muswell Hill, north London, where he lived until 1990.[2] He was involved in the formation of the South African Democratic Front. In 1967, Tambo became Acting President of the ANC, following the death of Chief Albert Lutuli.

The post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) identified Tambo as the person who gave final approval for the 1983 Church Street bombing, which resulted in the death of 17 people and injuries to 197.[3][4] 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."[5]

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[6][7][8] after having been elected National Chairperson of the ANC in July of the same year. Tambo died on 24 April 1993, aged 75, due to complications from a stroke.[9]

International relationships

The strong fight against apartheid brought Tambo to form a series of intense international relationships. In 1977, Tambo signed the first solidarity agreement between the ANC and a municipality: the Italian town of Reggio Emilia was the first city in the world to sign such a pact of solidarity.[10] This was the beginning of a long understanding which brought Italy to put an effort into concrete actions to support the right of southern African people's self-determination; one of these actions was the organization of solidarity ships. The first one, called "Amanda", departed from Genova in 1980[11]. It was Tambo himself who asked Reggio Emilia to mint Isitwalandwe Medals, the greatest of the ANC's honors [12]

Guerrilla activity

During his early years with the ANC, Oliver 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 apartheid state. One of the most notable of these attacks was the Church Street bombing on 20 May 1983, which resulted in the death of 19 civilians and the wounding of a further 217. In submissions to the TRC in 1997 and 1998, the ANC revealed that 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 Oliver Tambo, the ANC President, in 1979. At the time of the attack, they reported to Joe Slovo as chief of staff, and the Church Street attack was authorized by Tambo.

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 Aboobaker 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.[13]

Death

Tambo died from a stroke at the age of aged 75, 14 days after Chris Hani's assassination. His death came one year before the 1994 general election in which Nelson Mandela became the President of South Africa. Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Walter Sisulu attended the funeral. Tambo was buried in Benoni, Johannesburg.

Honours

In 2004, he was voted number 31 in SABC3's Great South Africans, scoring lower than H. F. Verwoerd, before the SABC decided to cancel the final rounds of voting. The decision to cancel the results was largely informed by the fact that the majority of black South Africans did not participate in the voting, as SABC3 caters predominantly to English speakers.

In late 2005, ANC politicians announced plans to rename Johannesburg International Airport after him. The proposal was accepted and the renaming ceremony occurred on 27 October 2006. The ANC-dominated government had previously renamed Jan Smuts Airport as Johannesburg International Airport in 1994 on the grounds that South African airports should not be named after political figures.

There is a bust of O.R. Tambo at the Albert Road Recreation Ground, Muswell Hill, outside the Alexandra Park School. In June 2013, the city of Reggio Emilia (Italy) celebrated Tambo with the creation of a park dedicated to the President of the African National Congress.

His house at 51 Alexandra Park Road, Muswell Hill, London, was purchased by the South African Government in 2010 as an historic monument and now bears a plaque.[14][15]

Tambo's grave was declared a National Heritage site when he died but lost this status when his wife, Adelaide Tambo, died and was buried alongside him. However their grave was re-declared a National Heritage site in October 2012.[16]

To conclude the centenary celebrations of the birth of Tambo, a commemoration was held at Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Moroka, Soweto on 27 October 2017. This same event marked also the centenary of the sinking of the troopship SS Mendi. The event was curated by Ambassador Lindiwe Mabuza and Fr Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu, together with the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation. Participating choirs were the Imilonji kaNtu Choral Society, Johannesburg Metro Police Choir and Ekurhuleni Metro Police Choir. The soloist of the day was Sibongile Khumalo.

Literature

  • 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.
  • Tambo, Dali (1993): Meets Ayabulela Tambo at his father's funeral. Multiple eyebrows rose

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo". South African History Online.
  2. ↑ Oliver Tambo: the exile, The Independent, 15 October 2007
  3. ↑ "SAPA – 12 May 97 – Tambo Ordered Church Street Blast: ANC". Department of Justice & Constitutional Development. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "1983: Car bomb in South Africa kills 16". BBC On This Day. 20 May 1983. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Guerrilla Group Vows to Step Up Anti-Apartheid Campaign Even if S. African Civilian Toll Rises". Los Angeles Times. 26 June 1985. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "ANC leader returns to S. Africa after spending 30 years in exile". Deseret News. 13 December 1990. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "Oliver Tambo returns from exile". South African History Online. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  8. ↑ Tambo, Oliver (16 December 1990). "Speech by Oliver Tambo at an ANC rally after the close of the National Consultative Conference". ANC. Archived from the original on 5 April 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  9. ↑ Keller, Bill (25 April 1993). "Oliver Tambo Is Dead at 75; Led Assault on Apartheid". The New York Times.
  10. ↑ "10 Years of Freedom: South Africa and Italy Co-Celebrate the Victory over Nazi-Fascism and the Victory over Apartheid". Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "Mozambique: the Italian "ship of solidarity" arrives in Port Maputo loaded with aid for the people of Southern Africa". Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "ANC Gauteng Centenary Month to celebrate Oliver Tambo". Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Justice Home". www.doj.gov.za. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  14. ↑ Berger, Sebastien (2010-03-12). "South African government buys ANC leader's Muswell Hill home". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  15. ↑ "Memorials to South African leader". 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  16. ↑ Germaner, Shain. "Tambo gravesite re-declared National Heritage site". Eye Witness News.
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