Daily Dispatch
Where are the Tambos of today
TODAY the African giant and selfless freedom fighter Oliver Reginald Tambo would have turned 100. The most famous son of Nkantolo village, in Bizana, lived his adult life fighting for the freedom of his people.
His death in 1993 came after he had suffered a stroke as a result of his demanding work. Basically he died serving the poor and oppressed people of South Africa.
At his funeral, Nelson Mandela described him thus: “A great giant who strode the globe like a colossus has fallen. A mind whose thoughts have opened the doors to our liberty has ceased to function. A heart whose dreams gave hope to the despised has for ever lost its beat. The gentle voice whose measured words of reason shook the thrones of tyrants has been silenced.” Such was the magnitude of Tambo’s life. He had led the ANC through its most difficult period – when it had been banned and most of its leadership languished in jail without any hope of their release.
But he remained an outspoken critic of apartheid – a moral voice who was always ready to eloquently demonstrate the duplicity and hypocrisy of the Western powers that continued to have diplomatic relations with apartheid South Africa.
His life of struggle and the fight against apartheid had started in his twenties when he was a student. He went on to become the longest-serving president of the ANC, having led the party from 1967 to 1991.
When he was ready to hand over power to Mandela in 1991 he opined that, despite the challenges the ANC faced during apartheid, “we did not tear ourselves apart because of lack of progress at times”.
“We were always ready to accept our mistakes and to correct them. Above all we succeeded to foster and defend the unity of the ANC and the unity of our people in general. We have never been in doubt that the people’s cause shall triumph.”
Clearly Tambo was speaking of a different ANC – one that now only exists in the hearts of those who genuinely believe in the selfless service of others.
Now it is a party torn apart by greed and the fight for power and influence.
The very unity Tambo preached about in 1991 is an evasive concept within the party, with the disintegration of the once glorious liberation movement being led by none other than President Jacob Zuma.
The “people’s cause” Tambo spoke about was long betrayed by Zuma and other corrupt leaders who are intent on lining their own bellies at the expense of the poor.
Today, in Nkantolo, Zuma will speak in glowing terms of the late Tambo and may even share personal anecdotes of his interactions with him. But clearly Zuma’s actions show that he learnt very little, if anything, from the great man.
Elsewhere on this page, ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa writes a personal letter to Tambo, where he stops short of saying that the late ANC leader would be embarrassed by the state that the governing party finds itself in. This means that we are a leaderless society and those in power are only interested in serving their own interests.
Where are the Tambos of our era?