Heritage month started with a bang in Breede Valley with the launch of the new Zwelethemba Heritage Route.
Zwelethemba is a Xhosa word, meaning “Nation of Hope”. It was first named “eMtshokotshweni” (referring to the concrete slabs used in building houses), and as the township expanded, it was then called “Khwezi” (“Morning Star”), before it finally became Zwelethemba in the 1950s.
The origin of the township was a direct result of the Slum Clearance Act of 1934, which allowed municipalities to demolish any area that was considered to be a slum. Worcester’s previous township was situated where Riverview Flats today stand and was called “Sakkiesdorp” and was de-proclaimed under this Act in 1950, due to overcrowding. Similar to District 6 in Cape Town, African people where then moved from Sakkiesdorp to Zwelethemba.
Zwelethemba is unique when compared to other townships in the Western Cape, since it is one of the oldest townships in the Western Cape and is so rich in history, and also it has yielded so many pioneers and changemakers on various terrains of South African history.
Zwelethemba Heritage Route
The Zwelethemba Heritage Route boasts 11 historical points of interest that tourists can see when they visit the township. Although most of these places are private homes, which are not open to the public, nothing prevents a tourist to go and look at such a historical place from the outside or while driving past.
The most important and culturally significant place is the former Mgxaji Family Residence at 556 Africa Avenue. This is the house where the famous artist Dumile Feni, who was born in Sakkiesdorp in Worcester, came to greet his mother’s family in 1968, before he left South Africa for New York in self-imposed exile.
Feni is arguably one of the three most important black South African artists with Gerard Sekoto and George Pemba, but perhaps the most important, because he was the first black South African artist to convey a political message in his artwork.
Other highlights include the house where Judge Thembile Skweyiya grew up. In 1970, he was admitted as South Africa’s first black advocate, and served as a Constitutional Court judge from 2001 – 2014. There is also the former house of Thobile “Tall” Mtwazi, who was the head of President Mandela’s protection unit from 1994-’99. Then there is also the former house of Ben Baartman, a founding member of MK, who fled to exile in Swaziland. The former house of the sculptor David Hlongwane can also be seen, as well as a house that is associated with Lundi Tyamara, a former backing vocalist for Rebecca Malope, and who was once one of South Africa’s best selling male gospel singers.
Besides these, historical places such as Freedom Square, where the Anti-Pass demonstration occurred in 1960, is steeped in history. Also worth seeing is the memorial wall for fallen heroes of the liberation struggle, as well as the graves of anti-Apartheid activists.
Although it is well-known that Nelson Mandela visited Zwelethemba in the 1950s to support the underground movement in Worcester, the exact address of the house where he found shelter is not known. It could have been any of the houses in the older part of Zwelethemba.
The Zwelethemba Heritage Route shows that this township and its people has left an indelible mark on South Africa, and that its residents’ contribution to history is forever imprinted in Worcester’s history as South Africa’s Care Capital.
