Media Statements

The African National Congress (ANC) joins the people of South Africa, the continent, and the international progressive community in commemorating the centenary of one of our most loyal, disciplined, and dedicated revolutionaries, Comrade Alfred Baphethuxolo Nzo, longest-serving Secretary General of the ANC.

Born on 19 June 1925 in the Eastern Cape, Comrade Nzo would go on to become one of the towering figures in South Africa’s liberation struggle, a bridge between generations, a custodian of organisational discipline, and a trusted servant of the people.

A product of the revolutionary youth movement, Comrade Nzo first made his mark as a student activist and member of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL). He trained as a health inspector by profession, but he chose instead to dedicate his life to the health of the nation’s freedom. As an early activist in Alexandra, he became Chairperson of the local ANC branch and played a pivotal role in organising the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the Alexandra Bus Boycotts, acts of mass civil disobedience that shifted the national consciousness and demonstrated the power of collective resistance.

As we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, we remember that he was a key organiser of the historic 1955 Congress of the People, which adopted the Freedom Charter in Kliptown, a document that remains the moral compass of our struggle and the foundation of our democratic state. For these activities, Comrade Nzo paid a heavy price, including arrest, harassment, and imprisonment in Modderbee Prison.

In exile, Comrade Nzo was a committed internationalist and soldier of the revolution. He underwent military training with uMkhonto weSizwe, and played critical roles as the ANC’s representative in Egypt, India, Zambia, and Tanzania, building international solidarity networks that helped isolate the apartheid regime. He was appointed to the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) and later became Deputy Head of the ANC’s Security Department, responsible for protecting the movement and its cadres during one of the most volatile periods in our struggle.

In 1969, at the Morogoro Conference, Comrade Nzo was elected Secretary General of the ANC, a position he held for 17 years, making him the longest-serving Secretary General in the movement’s history. His tenure was marked by humility, precision, and integrity. He held the centre of the ANC intact through some of its most challenging moments, from the Soweto Uprisings to intensified military repression.

His leadership was not only recognised by our people, he was awarded the Order of Friendship Among Peoples by the Praesidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1985 for his contribution to the international anti-apartheid struggle. He was deployed to crucial negotiations with the apartheid regime and was a key figure at CODESA, helping navigate South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy.Following the democratic breakthrough in 1994, Comrade Nzo was appointed as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of a free South Africa under President Nelson Mandela. He used his position to re-establish South Africa’s place among the nations of the world, strengthen continental diplomacy, and lay the foundation for South Africa’s future role in conflict resolution, peacekeeping, and Pan-African development.

In recognition of his immense contribution to the liberation of South Africa, the democratic government posthumously awarded him the Order of Luthuli in Silver.

Comrade Alfred Nzo passed away in January 2000, but his name lives on in our organisational memory, our public institutions, and our revolutionary consciousness. His legacy is one of quiet strength, enduring loyalty, and unshakeable commitment to the ideals of the Freedom Charter and the African National Congress.

As we mark this centenary, the ANC calls upon all generations of activists to emulate the life of Comrade Nzo, a life lived in service, without seeking glory, but leaving behind an indelible legacy.

Long live the undying revolutionary spirit of Comrade Secretary General Alfred Baphethuxolo Nzo! Long live!

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