DAKAWA DEVELOPMENT CENTRE: AN AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS SETTLEMENT IN TANZANIA, 1982–1992

The records of the African National Congress (ANC) in exile are being deposited in the Liberation Archives at the University of Fort Hare. Using these documents, it is now possible to aspire to a more subtle and realistic picture of exile as a factor in the modern history of South Africa. The article uses these records, and oral sources, to depict life at the Dakawa Development Centre, an ANC settlement in Tanzania from 1982 to 1992. The origins of the settlement are described, as are its functions. These included the preparation of students for the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College, at Mazimbu, near Morogoro; the ‘rehabilitation’ of those who, for various reasons, had diverged from norms acceptable to the ANC authorities; the production of agricultural and light industrial goods; the training of skilled workers, and, latterly, the creation of a cultural centre. These and other aspects are seen against the background of sometimes conflicting politics at the Centre, and in relation to the stresses of exile in an often difficult and unhealthy environment. Finally, the impact of the political changes of the early 1990s on this community is described.