Late African National Congress party president Oliver Tambo was the architect of the freedom that South Africans are enjoying today, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday.
Ramaphosa said this when he unveiled Tambo’s nine-metre-tall bronze statue at the OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg to celebrate the freedom fighter’s 103rd birthday celebrations on Tuesday.
According to the president, the larger-than-life statue stood as a “symbol of South Africa’s triumph as a nation over injustice – thanks to the good, brave and principled men like Oliver Tambo.”
Erecting Tambo’s statue, therefore, affirmed the importance of preserving South Africa’s heritage and honouring fallen heroes, apart from affirming “the importance of preserving our heritage for the benefit of future generations,” the current ANC president said at the unveiling ceremony.
The statue, located outside the airport, paid tribute to the man who worked tirelessly to forge international support for the anti-apartheid struggle, Ramaphosa added.
“It is, therefore, most fitting that this statue has been erected here at this airport that bears his name, and which is a gateway to the continent and to the world.
“This statue is a colossus as was the man it commemorates,” the president said.
From his base in Lusaka, Zambia, Tambo led the ANC in exile under difficult times and delivered numerous landmark speeches to the UN General Assembly calling for action against the apartheid government.
He was Nelson Mandela’s closest friend, having run a law firm they owned in Johannesburg during the early years of the struggle.
NM/jn/APA