Tanzania's ruling party lauds unsung heroes of South Africa’s liberation struggle

By Kizito Makoye

MOROGORO, Tanzania (AA) - Tanzania’s ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party has hailed exiled members of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) party who sacrificed their lives during the liberation struggle against the apartheid regime.

Dorothy Mwamsiku, CCM chairwoman for the Morogoro region, said at a great personal cost to themselves, exiled members of the ANC who lived in Morogoro used every political weapon to defeat the divisive apartheid era and fight for freedom and democracy in their country.

“We honor them for the resolve and bravery they had shown during their country’s liberation struggle. South Africa as it is today has been defined by the strength of those men and women who helped defeat the apartheid era," she said.

According to Mwamsiku, although it is almost impossible to speak about South Africa’s fight for freedom without mentioning Nelson Mandela, the country’s first democratically elected president, there were other men and women who helped wage a persistent battle for freedom to get to the point where every voice was heard.

She expressed her gratitude to the people of Morogoro for showing strong moral support to exiled ANC members during the difficult time of repression in South Africa, adding the experience has helped cement relations between the two parties, which have long developed a habit of working together.

- Popular movements

The emergence of organized popular liberation movements across Africa after the Second World War was crucial for achieving independence for many African countries.

As a staunch opponent of colonial rule in Africa, Tanzania played a pivotal role in assisting other African nations in their liberation struggles.

Julius Nyerere, the architect of Tanzania’s independence and the country’s first president, was a key figure in the struggle against foreign domination and helped promote the concept of Pan-African unity.

Observers say that Tanzania’s support for the ANC’s liberation movement went beyond rhetoric as Nyerere encouraged unity and solidarity among Africans.

According to Mwamsiku, Nyerere, who dedicated his entire life to the wellbeing of humanity, played a very important role in the struggle for South Africa’s independence.

The country offered itself as a base for those fighting for liberation, including South Africa.

“These movements benefitted from the safety and stability of the country, as well as the experience and guidance they received from Tanzania, which by then had already achieved independence,” she said.

Although the most visible contributions to South Africa’s liberation struggle apparently came from Tanzania’s political elites, Mwamsiku said ordinary citizens, notably the people of Morogoro, were generally very supportive of the cause for freedom.

“The people of Morogoro and Tanzanians in general were very friendly and supportive to their brothers and sisters from South Africa,” she said.

- Enduring legacy

A billboard bearing the message “Tell my people that I love them and that they must continue the struggle. My blood will nourish the trees that will bear the fruits of freedom, Aluta continua” at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro captures the enduring legacy of South African freedom fighter Solomon Mahlangu, who was brutally executed by the apartheid regime.

Perched at the foot of the rolling Uluguru Mountains are lively villages spanning the lush green scenery of Mazimbu -- the place where freedom fighters took refuge while waging a war against the repressive system back in South Africa.

Ali Mkopa, a resident of Mazimbu, who was a small boy when the first batch of ANC freedom fighters arrived in Morogoro seeking political asylum, hailed Nyerere for offering swathes of land to the exiled South Africans to settle and establish their political base.

“The freedom fighters felt at home here. They really had no hope of going back home. The situation there made them feel they would never return,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Mazimbu, which attracted a growing number of ANC exiles who flocked to the country after the 1976 Soweto uprising, also served as a political strategy center for the freedom fighters.

“Some of them learned Swahili and freely mingled with members of the Tanzanian society,” Mkopa said.

According to him, some of the top ANC officials as well as men and women who went on to lead South Africa after independence lived in Mazimbu throughout the liberation struggle.

“Many South African leaders lived here. They were led by Oliver Tambo. In fact, he’s the one who lived here longer,” he said.

The Solomon Mahlangu campus at SUA was initially started in April 1979 as an educational facility for the ANC in honor of the freedom fighter’s contribution to the liberation struggle.

After the collapse of the apartheid regime in the 1990s, the facility was handed back by the ANC to the Tanzanian government in 1992.

“We often get visitors from South Africa who come to Morogoro to see the mortal remains of their brothers and sisters who lost their lives and were buried here,” said Mkopa.