Former freedom fighter brings Mandela’s message to Aberdeen
30/06/08
A VIP guest was welcomed to Aberdeen today after making a special journey from Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations in London.
Dali Tambo – the son of former African National Congress president Oliver Tambo – came to pass on personally Mr Mandela’s best wishes to the Granite City in recognition of his pride in having had the Freedom of the City conferred upon him 24 years ago.
He was welcomed to the Town House by Aberdeen Lord Provost Peter Stephen, city council chief executive Douglas Paterson and Deputy Lieutenant John Langler.
Mr Tambo has been in London with the former South African president’s entourage to celebrate the veteran freedom fighter’s birthday and attend last weekend’s giant Hyde Park concert.
He told the Lord Provost that Mr Mandela had been speaking with great pride about having been granted Aberdeen’s highest honour almost a quarter of a century ago while he was still a prisoner on Robben Island.
Mr Mandela’s frailty meant that he could not travel to Aberdeen personally and was returning to South Africa after the birthday celebrations – but Mr Tambo decided to make the journey himself to meet civic leaders and pass on Mr Mandela’s good wishes.
The Freedom of the City was conferred Mr Mandela and his then-wife Winnie in 1984 – and the scrolls marking the award were received on behalf of the Mandelas by Dali Tambo’s mother Adelaide Tambo and Solly Smith, the then-chief representative of the ANC in Great Britain and Ireland.
Mr Tambo grew up in exile in Europe and America and returned to South Africa in 1990 after working in film and television in the UK on productions such as Richard Attenborough’s Cry Freedom. The founder of Arts Against Apartheid worked in the arts, the media and television after returning to his homeland, and has more recently pursued business interests in IT and with oil companies in South Africa and abroad.
His father Oliver, who died in 1993, was a lifelong friend and colleague of Nelson Mandela and one of South Africa’s leading anti-apartheid politicians.
Born in the Eastern Cape, he was a central figure in the ANC after founding the ANC Youth League in 1943 with Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu.
In 1955 he became Secretary General of the ANC and Deputy President in 1958. He was sent abroad by the ANC in 1959, after being served with a five-year banning order by the government, to mobilise opposition to apartheid.
He settled with his family in London, became acting ANC president in 1967 and president in 1985. Mr Tambo returned to South Africa in 1991 after over 30 years in exile and was elected National Chairperson of the ANC in July of that year. He died in 1993.
Dali Tambo today paid tribute to Aberdeen’s role in the defeat of apartheid.
He said: “We received great support for our struggle from local government in Aberdeen and Scotland. You did what you could to fight for our freedom. Today, we come as free men and that is very pleasurable.”
Dali Tambo, who revealed to the Lord Provost that he calls Mr Mandela “Uncle Nelson”, was last in Aberdeen in the early 1980s – when he appeared with some 50 fellow ANC activists in a theatre production at the Beach Ballroom.
The Lord Provost commented: “It was a great honour to welcome Dali back to Aberdeen and to hear that Mr Mandela speaks to this day of his pride in having received the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen.
“South Africa is a very different place from the last time Dali was here in Aberdeen. It is now a free and democratic country, thanks to the heroic struggle of Dali’s father, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and the people of that nation – and with the help, too, of Aberdeen and other cities in Scotland.
“This city led the way on the boycott of South African produce, which put significant pressure on the apartheid regime of the time. Dali is immensely proud of the progress his free nation has made since the ending of apartheid – and we in Aberdeen can be proud that we made our own contribution to the freedom struggle.”
If you have any queries regarding this, or any other news story, please contact Aberdeen City Council on: 01224 522000.
