Oliver Tambo: Beyond the Engeli Mountains

Born in 1917 in Bizana in the Eastern Cape, Oliver Reginald Tambo became Nelson Mandela’s partner and a prominent member of the ANC’s Youth League. Following the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, Tambo left South Africa to set up the ANC’s international mission. As President of the ANC in exile, he led the fight against apartheid on both the diplomatic and military fronts. He died in 1993 on the eve of liberation. Tambo had a profound influence on the ANC during the difficult years of uncertainty, loneliness and homesickness in exile. His simplicity, his nurturing style, his genuine respect for all people seemed to bring out the best in them. This is the story of one of South Africa’s great sons – ‘the most loved leader’, the Moses who led his people to the promised-land but did not live to enter it. This superb biography is certain to win prizes. The long-awaited revised edition was released in South Africa in time for the celebration of what would have been of Oliver R Tambo’s 94th birthday. The new edition will, among other things, explore the complex relationship between Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo, and Tambo’s influence on the Mandela we revere today. It reveals for the first time secret correspondences between these two great giants of the African liberation politics during the difficult 1980s. This edition will also include the details on the often misunderstood Operation Vula, and also the meaning of OR in the tumultuous political landscape of the post-94 South Africa.