MK “Operation J” Aborted
On 22 April 1972, Alexander Moumbaris was busy packing his items for leaving the country the following day, after he had received a cable from Ronnie Kasrils in London the previous day, which said: “Regret to inform you that mother is dead. Deepest condolences”. Moumbaris had entered the country on 9 February 1972 through Jan Smuts Airport, and was renting a holiday cottage in the Isles of Shelly on Natal’s South Coast between Margate and Port Shepstone.
During the time he was on Natal’s South Coast, Moumbaris had been travelling the East Coast from the Isles of Shelly to East London to ensure the success of the African National Congress (ANC) plans to launch a seaborne invasion of South Africa, which was a longstanding objective of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Moumbaris was assisted in this mission by a London couple, Daniel Ahearn and Bob Newlands, as well as a seafarer from Liverpool, Bill McCaig. Landings along the South African coastline were envisaged in “Operation Mayibuye”, which featured in early plans for guerrilla warfare and were discussed by Oliver Tambo, Yusuf Dadoo, Moses Mabhida and Fanele Mbali with a group of Soviet politicians, army generals and navy admirals in early 1971.
In February 1971, Oliver Tambo and Moses Mabhida visited 10 MK cadres in Moscow, in the former Soviet Union, including Nicholas Kombele, Mbiela Dlamini, Benny Zulu, Edward Motsi, Reddy Mazimba, Gladstone Mose and Eric Tengwa. Oliver Tambo told
