- Scores of Gugulethu residents converged at Motale Bus Depot on Friday 3 May for the unveiling of Gugulethu Memorial Monument.
- The monument was temporarily installed at the corner of Klipfontein (NY108) and Steve Biko (NY1) roads.
- The man who spearheaded the project said they felt there was a need for the construction of the monument to educate the community about their history.
Scores of Gugulethu residents converged at Motale Bus Depot on Friday 3 May for the unveiling of Gugulethu Memorial Monument.
The monument was temporarily installed at the corner of Klipfontein (NY108) and Steve Biko (NY1) roads. The event kicked off with a majorette procession from the corner of NY 117, proceeded to NY 1 and ended at the Motale offices where proceedings continued.
The programme director Mlungisi Mazana described the occasion as one of a kind. He said the objective is to commemorate and celebrate the role that was played by former local leaders. He said it was time for the community to tell their stories. The event was meant to be conducted in November last year, but Mazana explained that lack of funds delayed everything.
Dr Mzwandile Plaatjie, who spearheaded the initiative, said the project belongs to the Gugulethu community. He said they felt there was a need for the construction of the monument to educate the community about their history. He reiterated Mazana’s sentiments, citing that it was time for the local people to tell their history instead of allowing people from outside to narrate it. He stated the monument is one of the many more things to come.
“The monument is the beginning of many more things to come here. We intend to build a Gugulethu Hub where we will keep our history so that it can be accessible to everyone. The monument will also change the image of Gugulethu as a whole. The tourists who are visiting our area will also come here. This is going to be part of the face of Gugulethu,” explained Plaatjie.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Mcebisi Skhwatsha described the event as an achievement. He said it brought mixed feelings to everyone.
“Today, we are celebrating our victory against the struggle. But at the same time, the event reminds us of those bad old days of Gugulethu. This is a place where Gugulethu residents were dumped by the apartheid government thinking that we would surrender the struggle, instead we rose. Today, we are commemorating all the people of Gugulethu who played a part in the struggle in different ways. We are talking about the politicians, soccer players, musicians, actors, etc,” said Skhwatsha.
He reiterated Plaatjie’s sentiments that they are intending to erect a hub where information about Gugulethu will be stored.
“We want to kill the narrative that people have about Gugulethu. We want people to stop thinking about the horrible things when they are thinking about this area. We want people to see it as a great example to other communities,” he concluded.