Witness History Folgen

On 13 December 1990, the anti-apartheid politician Oliver Tambo returned to South Africa after 30 years in exile. As the president of the banned African National Congress (ANC), he had lived in Zambia building the liberation movement while other key ANC members including Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu were political prisoners. By lobbying around the world and attracting talented South African exiles such as Thabo Mbeki, he built the organisation into a legitimate contender for government. When President FW de Klerk unbanned the ANC, Oliver or OR Tambo was finally able to return home where he was greeted by a crowd of thousands at the airport.Oliver Tambo’s son, Dali Tambo, recalls to Josephine McDermott how his father and other ANC exiles danced in the aisle of the plane as they crossed into South African airspace.(Photo: Oliver Tambo at Jan Smuts Airport. Credit: AP/John Parkin)

Brenda Fassie was one of South Africa's biggest pop stars in the late 1980s. The singer’s career nosedived in 1990, but her comeback saw her dubbed the 'Madonna of the townships' by Time magazine.Yvonne Chaka Chaka, born a year after Brenda, was perhaps the only South African pop star who could rival her popularity.Twenty years ago, in 2004, Brenda diedYvonne celebrates Brenda's life with Ben Henderson.(Photo Brenda Fassie, a South African pop star, performing on stage. Credit :ALEXANDER JOE/AFP via Getty Images.)

In August 2002, the remains of an indigenous South African woman called Sarah Baartman were returned to South Africa after almost 200 years away. Sarah died in Paris in 1815 after being forced to perform in European 'freak shows' where people considered to be biological rarities were paraded for entertainment. She had been subjected to racist and degrading treatment and her remains were exhibited at a French museum until 1976. When Nelson Mandela became the president of South Africa in 1994, he requested that Sarah's remains be returned to her homeland. However, by 1998 that had not happened. Poet Diana Ferrus decided to write about Sarah’s limbo. Her poem became so popular that it was noticed by politicians in France. Diana shares her memories of that time with Matt Pintus.This programme contains discriminatory language.(Photo: Sarah Baartman likeness at French museum. Credit: Getty Images)