The Lusaka Years: The ANC in Exile in Zambia, 1963 to 1994

by Hugh Macmillan

This is the extraordinary story of the ANC in exile in Zambia, where the organization had its headquarters for most of the time after it was banned in South Africa. The book uses the ANC’s own archives, the Zambian archives, and oral sources, as well as the author’s own participant observation, to provide a vivid account of this crucial era in southern African history. It seeks to understand the sociology of the ANC in exile in Zambia and argues that this was very different from its camp-based culture in Angola. It also examines the influence of the ANC’s exile experience on its approach to negotiations with the South African government and the transition from apartheid. It concludes by arguing that the legacy and lessons of exile were not, as some observers suggest, so much secrecy, paranoia, and a lack of internal democracy, as caution, moderation, and the avoidance of utopian experiments or great leaps forward.

Genres: History, Zambia, Africa, South Africa

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

The Rev. Hugh Macmillan was a 19th century Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as their Moderator of the General Assembly in 1897. He was a prolific author on theological subjects and the relationship between God and Nature. His most popular book Bible Teachings in Nature ran to 15 editions in both UK and USA and translated into several languages.

He was born on 17 September 1833 in Aberfeldy the eldest of nine children to a merchant, Alexander Macmillan, and his wife, Margaret Macfarlane. He attended school in Aberfeldy then Hill Street Academy in Edinburgh. He began an Arts degree then Medicine at Edinburgh University but dropped out and decided instead to train for the Free Church of Scotland (which had been created in 1843). He trained at New College, Edinburgh.

He was licensed to preach in January 1857 and began his ministry at the Free Church in Breadalbane. In 1859 he moved to Kirkmichael Church in Perthshire. In 1864 he moved to the Free Church of St Peter in Glasgow, a far larger charge. In 1878 he moved again to the Free Church in Greenock.

In 1871 St. Andrews University awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD) for his writing. In 1872 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposer being John Hutton Balfour. The University of Edinburgh awarded him a belated honorary doctorate (DD) in 1879 and Glasgow University gave a second DD in 1883 and made a Fellow of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries in the same year.

In 1886 he delivered the Thomson Lecture at the Free Church College in Aberdeen. In 1894 he delivered the Cunningham Lecture at New College, Edinburgh. In 1897 he gave the Gunning Lecture at Edinburgh University. In the same year he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly to the Free Church of Scotland, the highest accolade in his church. He was invited to the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria in London in this capacity. The queen is said to have greatly admired his books.

He lived his final years of ministry at 70 Union Street in Greenock. In 1892 he jointly founded the Clan MacMillan Society and served as its Chief 1892 to 1896. He retired in 1901. He died at home, 2 Murrayfield Road in West Edinburgh on 24 May 1903 and is buried in Dean Cemetery. The grave lies in the first northern extension, on its southern wall, backing onto the original cemetery.

Reviews

[Charmaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and easy to read.

[Jeff Schauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book which examines the experience of the ANC in exile in Zambia. Like many similar works on the party during the apartheid years, the focus is largely on internal politics, but this books positions that politics in the specific context of the social and political environment of Zambia, helping to support the author's contention that there was no single "exile" experience which shaped the ANC and its approach to governance since 1994. There was less on the social and cultural environment of Lusaka and on the Zambian context than I would have liked. But it was a fascinating read nonetheless.

[Patrick Slavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Professional, polished and thoroughly researched history of the ANC's exile in Lusaka, from the early 1960s to 1991. Only for the deeply interested in this region; it is for insiders. Lots of history with interesting parallels to Zambia's history - as the ANC's return home coincided with the fall of the 27-year Kaunda Presidency. Good to be reminded of when the ANC was considered "the party of the oppressed."