Abstract
The African National Congress (ANC) was established in 1912 and banned by the apartheid government
in 1960. Many members of the organisation went into exile, and it continued underground. The
organisation became synonymous with the anti-apartheid and liberation struggle in South Africa
until its unbanning in 1990. The organisation had early on adopted an anti-nuclear weapons position and
its awareness of, and resistance against, the apartheid regime’s secret nuclear weapons program became
one of the pillars of its global struggle to end apartheid. This paper traces the early development of the
ANC’s position on nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, before discussing its international anti-nuclear
initiatives, including its armed struggle and attack against the Koeberg nuclear power plant close to Cape
Town, during its construction.