A founder member of the ANC he lived under banning orders through the 1960s, with the last one expiring in 1972. Thousands attended his funeral in January 1981. The raising of the banned ANC flag, and reports of the apartheid flag being burnt, forced government to pass the new Republic of South Africa constitution Act 101 of 1981 making it a crime to damage the national flag. Three of his sons went into exile with Tom Letlao becoming the first spokesperson of the banned ANC.