Raphadu welcomes street name to honour struggle icon

Ward 105 councillor, Tefo Raphadu has welcomed the street name change from Lion Crescent in East Bank to Japie Vilankulu Crescent.

Raphadu said residents looked forward to the new street name and said it was a way of paying tribute to people who have paid a pivotal role in the fight against the apartheid regime.

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Vilankulu was the first Alex youngster to die during the 1976 student uprisings in Soweto.

Raphadu said, “A public meeting with residents was held to make them aware of the exciting new change. [The] residents welcomed this gesture because they knew the importance of honouring our struggle icons.”

According to Raphadu, the change was supposed to have been made before the 2016 Local Government Elections but was put on hold to make way for the elections.

“This was put forward by the previous councillor Joyce Ngwenya and I was surprised to learn that Mayor Herman Mashaba has claimed it as his cabinet’s idea. But we are happy nonetheless.”

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Resident, Natasha Phiri said she was happy with the name change as it was a way of honouring struggle icons. Phiri said, “What is the point of naming a street after an animal anyway? This is a good thing.”

She said this street name changed would encourage young people to learn about the history of the township.

“This is not the first time it has happened in Alex. People like Reverend Sam Buti and Alfred Nzo are honoured in our township. People should be politically conscientise and this is the perfect opportunity for them to learn [about] our history.”

Phiri was, however, unhappy with how [the change] was done as people only knew about it through word of mouth.

Digital maps such as Google Maps does not recognise Lion Crescent and community members going to the location would need to search for Japie Vilankulu Crescent instead.