A Marxist in the Trotskyist tradition, he was central to the Non-European Unity Movement from its inception in 1943, as well as in the African Peoples' Democratic Union of Southern Africa (APDUSA) formed 1961.

[2] He was a founding member of the Trotskyist Workers Party of South Africa (WPSA) in 1935, and joined the All African Convention (AAC) formed the same year, holding office in its executive body.

Tabata was a founder member of in the Non-European Unity Movement (NEUM) from its inception in 1943, which brought together the AAC and other bodies into a new national structure.

Tabata's first book, the Awakening of a People in 1950, examined the political struggle in South Africa and argued the case for the NEUM.

Tabata wrote extensively for nearly fifty years: besides texts noted earlier, other notable and widely-read works by Tabata include Birth of a Nation , the Imperialist Conspiracy in Africa, Letter to Mandela, On The Agrarian Problem, Apartheid Cosmetics Exposed, The PAC Venture in Perspective".

Tabata played a major role in the formation of the Unity Movement tradition, which was until the 1970s the largest Trotskyist current in southern Africa.

For the former, he was 'a giant in intellect, an indefatigable and revolutionary politician, an outstanding orator and a skilled, analytical writer' who left a 'tremendous legacy'.

[5] For the latter, he was an extraordinary 'theoretician, writer, orator, organiser', and 'a Marxist of the highest calibre'[7] Thabo Mbeki, who then occupied the presidency of the Republic of South Africa, awarded Tabata the Order of Lethuli in gold for "exceptional contribution to the founding of organisations which forged unity among the oppressed across race and class boundaries".