To this end, its methods and means of organisation shifted; its adoption of the techniques of mass politics, and the swelling of its membership, culminated in the Defiance Campaign of civil disobedience in 1952–53.

Headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia, the exiled ANC dedicated much of its attention to a campaign of sabotage and guerrilla warfare against the apartheid state, carried out under its military wing, uMkhonto we Sizwe, which was founded in 1961 in partnership with the South African Communist Party (SACP).

After the Soweto Uprising of 1976, the ANC remained committed to achieving its objectives through armed struggle, led by its military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe.

Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Sol Plaatje, John Dube, and Walter Rubusana founded the organisation, who, like much of the ANC's early membership, were from the conservative, educated, and religious professional classes of black South African society.

[14][15] Although they would not take part, Xhosa chiefs would show huge support for the organisation; as a result, King Jongilizwe donated 50 cows to during its founding.

[citation needed] Around 1920, in a partial shift away from its early focus on the "politics of petitioning",[16] the ANC developed a programme of passive resistance directed primarily at the expansion and entrenchment of pass laws.

In the 1940s, Alfred Bitini Xuma revived some of Gumede's programmes, assisted by a surge in trade union activity and by the formation in 1944 of the left-wing ANC Youth League under a new generation of activists, among them Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela, and Oliver Tambo.

[16] In June 1955, it was one of the groups represented at the multi-racial Congress of the People in Kliptown, Soweto, which ratified the Freedom Charter, from then onwards a fundamental document in the anti-apartheid struggle.

[21] From around 1963, the ANC effectively abandoned much of even its underground presence inside South Africa and operated almost entirely from its external mission, with headquarters first in Morogoro, Tanzania, and later in Lusaka, Zambia.

[23] In 1961, partly in response to the Sharpeville massacre, leaders of the SACP and the ANC formed a military body, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK, Spear of the Nation), as a vehicle for armed struggle against the apartheid state.

[24] As the ANC reduced its presence inside South Africa, however, MK cadres were increasingly confined to training camps in Tanzania and neighbouring countries – with such exceptions as the Wankie Campaign, a momentous military failure.

[25] In 1969, Tambo was compelled to call the landmark Morogoro Conference to address the grievances of the rank-and-file, articulated by Chris Hani in a memorandum which depicted MK's leadership as corrupt and complacent.

[26] Although MK's malaise persisted into the 1970s, conditions for armed struggle soon improved considerably, especially after the Soweto uprising of 1976 in South Africa saw thousands of students – inspired by Black Consciousness ideas – cross the borders to seek military training.

[32] The animosity of Western regimes was partly explained by the Cold War context, and by the considerable amount of support – both financial and technical – that the ANC received from the Soviet Union.

Before these, the most important split in the ANC's history occurred in 1959, when Robert Sobukwe led a splinter faction of African nationalists to the new Pan Africanist Congress.

[48][49]Under South Africa's closed-list proportional representation electoral system, parties have immense power in selecting candidates for legislative bodies.

[43][60][65] The 1969 Morogoro Conference committed the ANC to a "national democratic revolution [which] – destroying the existing social and economic relationship – will bring with it a correction of the historical injustices perpetrated against the indigenous majority and thus lay the basis for a new – and deeper internationalist – approach".

For example, whereas SACP theorists tend to emphasise the anti-capitalist character of the NDR, some ANC policymakers have construed it as implying the empowerment of the black majority even within a market-capitalist scheme.

The RDP aimed both to redress the socioeconomic inequalities created by colonialism and apartheid, and to promote economic growth and development; state intervention was judged a necessary step towards both goals.

[58][84] A discussion document ahead of the ANC's 2015 National General Council proposed that:China['s] economic development trajectory remains a leading example of the triumph of humanity over adversity.

[106][107] Officials representing the ANC Youth League acted as international observers for Russia's staged referendum to annex Ukrainian territory conquered during the war.

[115] In earlier years, the ANC published a range of periodicals, the most important of which was the monthly journal Sechaba (1967–1990), printed in the German Democratic Republic and banned by the apartheid government.

[118] "Amandla ngawethu", or the Sotho variant "Matla ke arona", is a common rallying call at ANC meetings, roughly meaning "power to the people".

Internally Mandela publicly criticized the party, following the conclusion of his presidency, for ignoring instances of corruption and mismanagement, whilst allowing for the growth of a culture of racial and ideological intolerance.

Tony Yengeni, in his position as chief whip of the ANC and head of the Parliaments defence committee has recently been named as being involved in bribing the German company ThyssenKrupp over the purchase of four corvettes for the SANDF.

[citation needed] Other corruption issues in the 2000s included the sexual misconduct and criminal charges of Beaufort West municipal manager Truman Prince,[123] and the Oilgate scandal, in which millions of Rand in funds from a state-owned company were funnelled into ANC coffers.

[132][133][134] In late 2011, the ANC was heavily criticised over the passage of the Protection of State Information Bill, which opponents claimed would improperly restrict the freedom of the press.

[137] Commissioner Phiyega of the ANC came under further criticism as being insensitive and uncaring when she was caught smiling and laughing during the Farlam Commission's video playback of the massacre.

[143] By November 2021, its Cape Town staff was approaching their fourth month without salaries, while medical aid and provident fund contributions had been suspended in various provinces.

[145] In January 2018, then-President Jacob Zuma established the Zondo Commission to investigate allegations of state capture, corruption, and fraud in the public sector.