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Witness History: Oliver Tambo returns to South Africa from exile

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Oliver Tambo returns to South Africa from exile

26/04/2024 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, Oliver Tambo returns to South Africa from exile

Oliver Tambo returned to South Africa in 1990 after 30 years in exile

Oliver Tambo led the movement against apartheid in South Africa from exile in Zambia. When he returned in 1990, greeted by Nelson Mandela, there were thousands to welcome him.

On 13 December 1990, the anti-apartheid politician Oliver Tambo returned to South Africa after 30 years in exile. 

As the president of the banned African National Congress (ANC), he had lived in Zambia building the liberation movement while other key ANC members including Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu were political prisoners. 

By lobbying around the world and attracting talented South African exiles such as Thabo Mbeki, he built the organisation into a legitimate contender for government. 

When President FW de Klerk unbanned the ANC, Oliver or OR Tambo was finally able to return home where he was greeted by a crowd of thousands at the airport.

Oliver Tambo’s son, Dali Tambo, recalls to Josephine McDermott how his father and other ANC exiles danced in the aisle of the plane as they crossed into South African airspace.

(Photo: Oliver Tambo at Jan Smuts Airport. Credit: AP/John Parkin)

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