ANC celebrates its 79th anniversary in Durban

The African National Congress (ANC) celebrated its 79th anniversary in Durban on 8 January 1991 for the first time as a legal organisation. At the time of the celebrations the ANC was under the leadership of Oliver Reginald Thambo. The government banned the ANC together with other political organizations such as the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and South African Communist Party (SACP) in 1960.  Some of the party's leadership was imprisoned while others skipped the country and went to live in exile. As international pressure mounted on the South African government to dismantle apartheid, and township protests erupted in the 1980s, the Nationalist Party government was forced to negotiate with the ANC. In 1990 Nelson Mandela was released from prison and in February that year, the ANC and other organizations were unbanned. Thus in 1991 the ANC met to celebrate its anniversary as a legal organization in South Africa. The event brought together some members of the party who had spent decades in exile and those who were working underground in the country. These cadres came with different political sub-cultures and diverse experiences. The ANC had to absorb large numbers of new members who had no political knowledge. All these put new demands on the ANC. The Conference had to grapple with major strategic and organizational questions that arose from the unbanning of the movement and release of political prisoners in the context of negotiations. During the celebration, Thambo stated that; this reality is itself a tribute to the heroism of the millions of South Africans who engaged in struggle demanding, among other things, the unbanning of the ANC, the release of political prisoners and the return of those in exile. During the celebration, Nelson Mandela said: "On this historic occasion I greet you all on behalf of our President Oliver Thambo, the National Executive Committee of the ANC and the rest of our membership. We wish you all peaceful new year, one which should see our country take resolute steps forward on the road to freedom, justice and peace."