Long Walk to Freedom

The state steps up its repression by raiding opposition leaders, confiscating printing presses, and more. On May 27, armed forces are deployed throughout the country in a show of force. The English-language press initially covers the ANC’s planned campaign, but several days before its start, the same papers begin urging people to go to work. The PAC also attempts to sabotage the stay-at-home by distributing flyers denouncing the ANC as cowards.

On May 29, hundreds of thousands refuse to go to work, but reports come in that the campaign is not effective nationwide. On the morning of May 30, Mandela announces an early end to the campaign. Despite trying to claim the stay-at-home as a success, Mandela tells the press that the government is rapidly foreclosing any possibility of addressing the ANC’s demands through nonviolent means. Mandela presents a proposal for armed struggle to the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

Chief Luthuli, the ANC’s president, is personally opposed to violence, especially since the ANC just finished arguing in the treason trial that the organization is opposed to violence on principle. Mandela and his allies discuss the matter with Luthuli all night and believe he has been swayed. It is decided that the military wing of the liberation struggle will officially separate from the ANC but maintain close communication. After much discussion, the other organizations allied with the ANC also agree to the decision.

Despite his total lack of military experience, Mandela must now assemble, train, and equip an army. The new military organization is called Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), “The Spear of the Nation.” Mandela chooses his friends Walter Sisulu and Joe Slovo, a white Communist Party member, to join him on the High Command. Through Slovo, other communists already engaged in a campaign of sabotage are brought into MK.

Mandela buries himself in the available literature on military theory and guerrilla warfare, noting the works of Mao, Castro, and Che Guevara as being especially relevant to South Africa. He also surveys the country’s infrastructure systems, looking for weak points.

On June 26, 1961, Freedom Day in the minds of the struggle’s members, Mandela sends a letter to the South African papers giving the government a final chance to convene a constitutional convention attended by members of all races. He ends the letter with: “The struggle is my life. I will continue fighting for freedom until the end of my days” (276).

Mandela details his early days in hiding, reading military theory during the day, planning sabotage at night, and moving frequently. Several times, he must leave because other Africans recognize either him or signs of his presence.

In October 1961, Mandela comes to Liliesleaf Farm, just north of Johannesburg, where he disguises himself as a servant. He is often treated disrespectfully by other Africans and comments:

Many people have painted an idealistic picture of the egalitarian nature of African society, and while in general I agree with this portrait, the fact is that Africans do not always treat each other as equals. Industrialization has played a large role in introducing the urban African to the perceptions of status common to white society (279).

Other members of MK soon join Mandela at Liliesleaf Farm.

MK decides on a campaign of infrastructure sabotage rather than guerrilla warfare, deeming itself unprepared for a broad, sustained military engagement. The members do agree, however, that it will likely be necessary to escalate to guerrilla warfare and even outright terrorism at some point.

In December 1961, Chief Luthuli is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Mandela feels satisfaction that the South African struggle is finally getting the attention it deserves. By unfortunate coincidence, MK’s first attack, bombings of power stations and government offices, has just occurred.

Mandela is invited to the conference of the Pan African Freedom Movement for East, Central, and Southern Africa (PAFMECSA) taking place in February 1962 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He hopes to make important connections and win material support for MK’s operations, as well as counteract PAC’s influence, which is much better known outside of South Africa than the ANC.

Mandela is smuggled by car to Bechuanaland to charter a plane north and makes his way to Dar es Salaam in Tanganyika. For the first time in his life, he is in an independent country ruled by Africans; he is amazed by the newfound sense of total freedom. As he travels to Addis Ababa, he meets several old colleagues, including Oliver Tambo and Gaur Radebe, who will also be attending the PAFMECSA conference. 

Ethiopia’s example of African resistance to European imperialism inspires Mandela, and he looks forward to meeting Emperor Haile Selassie. However, the reality of Ethiopia, a poor country with a despotic political system, leaves him unimpressed.

At the conference, Mandela is frustrated by the misinformation the PAC spreads among African leaders regarding the ANC. He addresses the conference, detailing the history of the ANC and the liberation struggle in South Africa. His speech is well received and convinces many delegates of the necessity of the ANC’s creation of MK.

As Mandela talks to the delegates, he discovers that attendees believe the ANC and MK are controlled by white communists and liberals that view Africans as expendable. Mandela forcefully rejects these claims and wins important converts to the MK’s cause.

After the conference, he travels on to Cairo; he wishes to see the political and economic reforms of the Egyptian nationalist leader, Gamal Nasser, in effect. Mandela travels to several other African countries, gaining promises from some to provide money and military support in either arms or training. Dr. Mustafa, a leader of Morocco’s anti-colonial paramilitary force, the FLN, explains to him that guerilla warfare is “not designed to win a military victory so much as to unleash political and economic forces that would bring down the enemy” (298). Dr. Mustafa also advises Mandela not to neglect the importance of building international support.

From Senegal, Mandela and Oliver Tambo take a flight to London. There, Mandela hopes to find more books on guerrilla literature. He remains incognito and meets with leaders of the Labour and Liberal parties. He also sees Dr. Yusuf Dadoo, former leader of the SAIC, who now represents the liberation struggle in London. Mandela and Tambo reluctantly inform Dadoo that the ANC’s association with white and Indian communists has hindered efforts to secure support from other African countries. They resolve that the ANC must take the preeminent position within the alliance for the sake of appearance.

From London, Mandela returns to Addis Ababa to begin his military training. It is planned to last for six months, but the ANC recalls Mandela to South Africa after only eight weeks. With the armed conflict escalating, the MK commander needs to be present.