Operation Zikomo: The Armed Struggle, the Underground and Mass Mobilisation in South Africa's Border Region, 1986-1990, through the Experiences of MK Cadres

The ANC had embarked upon its armed struggle in the early 1960s, yet two decades later it had very little to show by way of progress in that facet of the struggle. In the interim, though, the organisation had gained some experience and learnt some lessons. When the waves of mass unrest swept through South Africa in the mid-1980s, the ANC interpreted the situation as presenting an opportunity to 'relaunch' the armed struggle, albeit in a different way. It opted to root MK, its armed wing, firmly among the masses and to build towards an armed uprising; this campaign was code-named Operation Zikomo. Using the Eastern Cape's Border region as a case study, this paper looks at how the Operation Zikomo campaign unfolded, through the eyes of MK combatants who were deployed inside the country at the time. It argues that the establishment and achievements of the UDF greatly assisted the ANC's armed effort. It also emphasises that the ANC's armed struggle should be analysed within the country's peculiar historical conditions.