SOWETO

Soweto is a must-see for tourists who are looking for more than sun, sea and the big five.

Soweto may sound like an African name, but the word was originally an acronym for "South Western Townships". A cluster of townships sprawling across a vast area 20 kilometers south-west of Johannesburg, Soweto was, from the start, a product of segregationist planning. It was back in 1904 that Klipspruit, the oldest of a cluster of townships that constitute present day Soweto, was established. The township was created to house mainly black labourers, who worked in mines and other industries in the city, away from the city centre. The inner city was later to be reserved for white occupation as the policy of segregation took root. In the 1950s, more black people were relocated there from "black spots" in inner city Johannesburg - black neighbourhoods which the apartheid government then reserved for whites. It was not until 1963 that the acronym "Soweto" was adopted, following a four-year public competition on an appropriate name for the sprawling township.

VILAKAZI STREET

Share the spirit of ekasi by visiting the famous street in Soweto where the two famous residentsand Nobel peace prize winners Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela once lived and Archbishop Mpilo Desmond Tutu still living there.

The people on Vilakazi Street in Soweto, south of Johannesburg, seem to walk with an air of grace, which tells you there’s something special about it. The vibrant, tourist-swarmed neighbourhood is the only one of its type in the world – home to two Nobel peace prize winners.

The first thing you see when you turn on to the street is the house in which Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu still lives with his wife Leah. Painted light grey and enclosed by high walls, there's no sign that a legend lives inside. Locals say that when he’s in back in town Tutu loves to walk about and freely mix with the community.

Tutu was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts in fighting apartheid. His equally famous compatriot, former president Nelson Mandela, also has a lifelong history in Vilakazi Street.

Mandela, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, lived in Vilakazi Street from 1946 to 1961. He stayed in the redbrick five-roomed house with his first wife, Evelyn Mandela, until their divorce.

When he remarried, Mandela remained in the house with his second wife, Winnie Madikizela Mandela. The couple divorced in 1996, six years after Mandela was released from prison.

The Mandela Family Museum

The house is now the Mandela Family Museum, and a South African heritage site. The museum is open to the public for tours on weekdays.

Inside, the house is decorated with photos of a young Mandela, his children, other African National Congress (ANC) stalwarts, and his ex-wives. Memorabilia include gifts he’s received from across the world, and honorary doctorates he’s received from international universities.

Tour guide Jane Monakwane explains that the structure has undergone serious revamping. "The house came under attack many times before Mandela went to prison. At that time, Mandela spent many nights on the kitchen floor, as it was safest. Bullets could not penetrate through the kitchen.

"Shortly before Mandela’s release, Winnie had the house renovated to welcome him back."

Inside the main bedroom are three pairs of shoes: a pair of size-nine army boots worn by Madikizela Mandela; a pair of hiking boots, the first pair of shoes Mandela wore as a free man, which were too small for him; as well as the shoes he wore in prison.

A block up from the Mandela family museum, on the corner of Moema and Vilakazi Street, is the intersection where Hector Peterson was killed by police. Peterson was the first victim of the June 16 1976 students’ uprising, a key event in the struggle against apartheid.

The image of the boy’s death, captured by photographer Sam Nzima, sent shock waves around the world. The Hector Peterson Museum was later built close to the site, where visitors are walked through the events of June 1976.

A leading intellectual

Vilakazi Street was named after Dr BW Vilakazi, one of South Africa’s earliest black intellectuals, poet and novelists, who wrote in a number of indigenous languages.

Vilakazi was the first black man to teach at the University of the Witwatersrand. Officially employed as a "language assistant", he was in fact a lecturer – the race laws of the day did not permit the technically white institution to call him a lecturer. While teaching at Wits, he obtained a PhD in literature. During his lifetime Vilakazi helped to develop the languages of isiZulu and siSwati in written form and helped develop the isiZulu dictionary.

Hector Pieterson Museum

Hector Pieterson (1964 - 16 June 1976) became the iconic image of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, where school children protested over the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in township schools, when a news photograph by Sam Mzima of the dying Hector being carried by a fellow student, was published around the world. He was killed at the age of 12 when the police opened fire on protesting students. By the end of the fateful day 556 children were dead. For years, 16 June stood as a symbol of resistance to the brutality of the apartheid government. Today, it's known as National Youth Day - a day on which South Africans honour young people and bring attention to their needs.

Pitso or Petersen or Pieterson

Since June 1976, Hector's surname has been spelt "Petersen". Now the family insists that the correct spelling is "Pieterson". That's not the full story. The Pieterson family was originally the Pitso family. It decided to adopt the Pieterson name to try to pass as "coloured", a minority grouping who had slightly better privileges, like marginally higher wages. Antoinette Sithole, Hector's sister, says that before she married she had always been "Pieterson", but that she and her siblings had always considered it a joke.

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