IV.

The ANC Underground

In 1961, after the government had banned the organization, the ANC formed a military wing called Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”), which began a campaign of sabotage against the government. During the unrest of the next several years, Mandela and Sisulu were sentenced to life in prison for their ANC activities, and Tambo left South Africa to establish an external wing of the ANC. For the next 30 years the ANC operated as an underground organization, with its principal leaders imprisoned or living outside South Africa. In 1976 a revolt in Soweto, a black community outside Johannesburg, led to a reawakening of black African politics and a renewed assault on apartheid. ANC membership continued to grow throughout this time.