Oliver Tambo was one of SA’s greatest leaders and freedom fighters. As we celebrate Freedom Day on Thursday, Jeff Radebe pays tribute to the Struggle icon.
This week marks the 24th anniversary of Oliver Reginald Tambo’s passing. This stalwart of our liberation struggle left us in the early hours of April 24, 1993, after a long illness. The day marked an end to a life devoted to the struggle for the liberation of South Africa.
Born in the rural village of Kantolo, in Bizana, in the Eastern Cape, Tambo would have turned 100 on October 27. Many have correctly argued that OR Tambo cannot die, for his legacy lives on.
He left indelible footprints in our collective memory and his vision as the leader of our liberation movement is entrenched in the contours of our democratic society.
Those who were fortunate to get to know and interact with Tambo would testify that he was a multidimensional being. I was fortunate to have interacted with him during his lifetime. I remember him as the epitome of incisive leadership, intellect and high moral standards.
He was the glue that held the national democratic revolution together for almost three decades.
My first personal encounter with him is still etched in my memory as if it was yesterday. It was in 1978 and I was working for Radio Freedom in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, when he visited the station.
The ANC’s department of information and publicity fell under the jurisdiction of the Office of the President.
I was obviously overwhelmed, for Tambo was a colossal figure, but his humility and quiet wisdom gave a sense of comfort.
A great listener who valued diverse opinions, Tambo was very patient with us and shared incisive ideas about strategies and tactics to send ANC messages home and across the world.
He had been the president of the ANC for two decades, having assumed the reins of leadership after the passing of Chief Albert Luthuli in 1967. He had joined the ANC in the 1940s and, alongside Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Anton Lembede, was responsible for the formation of the ANC Youth League in 1944. In 1954, at the age of 37, he was elected to the position of secretary-general. He became the deputy president of the ANC in 1957.
After the Sharpeville massacre in March 1960, he was instructed by the national leadership of the ANC to leave the country and build the ranks of the organisation in exile.
Tambo’s mission in exile was loud and clear - to establish a foreign mission and escalate the struggle to an international level. He put in motion the four pillars of the revolution, mass mobilisation, underground movement, armed resistance and international solidarity.
He identified Moses Kotane, JB Marks and Duma Nokwe as trusted and capable cadres to assist him in building the movement in exile. Kotane was the general secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), treasurer-general of the ANC and a key figure in the formation of progressive trade union movements in South Africa. Similarly, Marks had been a trade unionist, president of the African Mine Workers Union and also the president of the ANC in Transvaal. Nokwe was the secretary-general of the ANC.
This formidable team was not only strategic in waging a strong fight against the apartheid regime, but it also established a solid foundation for the tripartite alliance, which remained a resilient force for decades.
For Tambo, a devout Christian who was on the verge of being ordained as an Anglican priest before he went to exile, to nominate staunch communists to work closely with him was a reflection of the visionary leader that he was. He understood that ideological differences could not stand in the way of the revolution.
The common enemy was the apartheid regime.
In his international under- takings, Tambo proved to be a highly perceptive internationalist. He managed to mobilise different countries to be in solidarity not only with the ANC, but with the entire South African liberation movement inclusive of different political formations.
He raised funds for the movement and represented us at world forums such as the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the UN. Many countries recognised him as a diplomat and accorded him the status of a head of state.
He mobilised various countries and civil movements across the globe against the apartheid regime. The ANC received substantial military assistance from socialist countries such as Cuba and the Soviet Union, as well as several African countries. He was a hands-on revolutionary leader who was never scared to get his hands dirty.
During the Wankie campaign, Tambo alongside James Chikerema, the vice-president of Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu), was in the trenches and personally saw off the Luthuli detachment as they crossed the Zambezi River to wage one of the fiercest attacks against the South African Defence Force and its allies.
This detachment, comprised of MK and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (Zipra) soldiers, courageously fought the South African forces in one of the epic military confrontations of our liberation struggle.
As a visionary leader, Tambo had his sights on the other side of the horizon. He warned the ANC cadres in Angola as far back as 1977 that being a ruling party was not going to be easy. “Comrades, you might think it is very difficult to wage a liberation struggle. Wait until you are in power. By then, you will realise that it is actually more difficult to keep the power than to wage a liberation war,” he said.
As we continue to deepen freedom and democracy in our society, it is prudent that we seek wisdom from the profound words of this gallant leader.
It was because of his erudite leadership that Tambo brought back the organisation intact after decades of exile. It is exceptional that he was able to pull the different strands of the ANC together under very difficult circumstances.
My first encounter with him back home was in 1991, when I served as the deputy chair of the ANC in southern Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) and he came to address the region. My heart sank when I noticed that old age had ravaged his body.
When he started to speak, addressing comrades about the future prospects of South Africa, I realised that he still possessed fire and the revolutionary spirit. The fire that oozed in him during decades of his leadership inspired us to continue with the struggle.
The same zeal that kept us going at the most difficult time of the struggle should propel us forward as the nation in this year of OR Tambo. Let us take a leaf from Tambo’s visionary leadership as a unifier, and cherish the things that bring us together as a nation.
This is the best tribute that we can pay to Tambo’s memory.
Great leaders never die. For their wisdom is forever present.
* Radebe is the Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.