For over three decades, the remarkable story of Umkhonto we Sizwe’s Special Operations Unit has remained largely untold. Formed under the direct command of ANC president Oliver Tambo and senior ANC and SACP leader Joe Slovo, this elite unit executed some of the most daring and high-profile attacks against the apartheid state in the 1980s. From the spectacular 1980 Sasol bombings to the 1988 attack at the Witbank security police offices, Special Ops was at the forefront of the armed struggle, targeting strategic economic and military sites with precision and determination.

In this groundbreaking book, the history of Special Ops is brought to life through the voices of its surviving participants. Based on interviews with 48 individuals, conducted over nearly ten years, this oral history offers an intimate and comprehensive look at the unit’s operations, challenges and achievements. Also drawing from press reports, TRC records and official documents, the narrative provides a balanced assessment of the political context, role and significance of Special Ops within the broader ANC-led national liberation struggle.

Attacking the Heart of Apartheid  is an essential read for anyone interested in the history of the anti-apartheid struggle, the dynamics of armed resistance, and the power of collective action in the pursuit of justice and equality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Yunus Carrim  became politically active while in high school in 1971. He has served in the executives of various political, community and other organisations, including the Natal Indian Congress, SACP and Natal Midlands ANC. He has been an SACP Central Committee and Politburo member since 1995. He was an ANC MP from 1994 to 2024 and chaired several parliamentary committees. He served as Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs between 2009 and 2013 and Minister of Communications in 2013–14. He is a former senior lecturer in sociology and a freelance journalist.

'Attacking the Heart of Apartheid: The ANC's MK Special Operations Unit' is published by Penguin Random House South Africa