The independence of Mozambique, in particular, gave tremendous momentum to the armed struggle in South Africa. Jacob Zuma recalls that when Angola and Mozambique attained independence in 1975: “the comrades had the idea that an opportunity had come to take the armed struggle, or struggle in totality, some steps forward ... since we had a link with the outside.” Throughout 1975 up to the first half of 1976, many people left South Africa mainly under the auspices of the African National Congress (ANC) to take up military training.
