VEREENIGING – There is an initiative to rename Houtkop Road in Vereeniging after the political activist and former SecretaryGeneral of the African National Congress (ANC), Duma Nokwe.
The ANC wants to honour the late Nokwe, a former Secretary-General of the party and of its Youth League by renaming ‘Houtkop Road’ in Vereeniging to ‘Duma Nokwe Road’.
This is not the first time a name change has been proposed for this road.
The Gauteng Geographical Names Committee (GGNC) in partnership with the Sedibeng District Municipality have invited members of the public to participate in a public participation process regarding the proposed name change at the Vereeniging City Hall on Wednesday, July 24.
The public participation meeting regarding the proposed name change is scheduled to take place between 09:00 and 12:00 in the morning.
In the South African context, the term “houtkop” is perceived by many as an offensive word, as it could be interpreted as a derogatory term for a black African person.
Others, however, argue that the motivation for the name change is based on a misunderstanding.
The news about a possible name change caused quite a stir and has generated a lot of discussion on social media this past week.
According to Dalene Venter, DA councillor for the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s Ward 1, the name of the street in this case has nothing to do with the naming of cultures, but rather refers to a place in Sonlandpark, residents formerly called ‘Houtkop’.
Venter says: “One needs to go back to the early history of Vereeniging and where the actual name comes from. The road (Houtkop Road) was in the early days of Vereeniging used by people to go to the hills (koppies) towards Sonlandpark to cut wood (hout) for fires.
That is where the name “Houtkop” originates from. It’s named after the koppies people went to to look for hout,” Venter explains.
Klippies Kritzinger, a prominent local businessman, on Facebook labeled this drive as waste of ratepayers’ and businesses’ money.
“Our bankrupt and dysfunctional local and district municipalities decided in their ‘wisdom’ that now is the best time to waste ratepayers’ and businesses’ money on changing a street name.
You need to be replaced as you are irresponsible with our money. How can this be the biggest priority in our region currently?” said Kritzinger.
Hassan Mako, a member of the mayoral committee of the Emfuleni Local Municipality corrected Kritzinger’s intial comment, by explaining that the drive for the name change comes from provincial government and not the Emfuleni Local Municipality itself.
Kritzinger replied that he is nevertheless convinced that there are more important projects that need immediate attention and that the bottom line is that a name change will cost millions, that could have otherwise been spent to change the lives of the needy.
More about Duma Nokwe:
Philemon Pearce Dumasile Nokwe (13 May 1927 – 12 January 1978) was a South African political activist and legislator, and served as the Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1958 to 1969.
He is also a former Secretary-General of the ANC Youth League from 1953 to 1958.
Nokwe was born in Evaton in the Vaal Triangle and was educated at St. Peter School in Johannesburg and the Fort Hare University, where he was part of the ANC Youth League.
After graduating with a BSc.degree and a diploma in education, he took up a teaching post at Krugersdorp High School.
Nokwe was drawn into political action and served a sentence for entering a Germiston location without a permit during the 1952 Defiance Campaign. After his release from prison he was dismissed by the Transvaal Education Department, after which he travelled to Bucharest as part of the South African delegation, and also toured the Soviet Union, China and Britain.
Upon his return to South Africa, he wrote and spoke extensively about his experiences, until he was banned and a restriction order was served on him in July 1954.
Having been barred from the teaching profession he moved on to study law.
In 1956 he became the first African barrister to be admitted to the Transvaal Supreme Court, but was prevented from practicing his profession by a Native Department Directive.
He was debarred from taking chambers with his white colleagues in the centre of Johannesburg and ordered to find an office in an African township.
Nokwe later contested the order on the grounds that it conflicted with a Supreme Court ruling that the offices of a barrister must be within reach of the court, but was by this stage less interested in practising Law than in his political activism.
He was arrested in December 1956, along with 155 others, including many prominent ANC members, and put on trial for treason.
While the cases against most of the defendants were dismissed by 1959, Nokwe was one of 30 defendants whose trial continued under a revised indictment.
He continued his political work, despite the trial, banning orders and frequent arrests on trivial charges.
Nokwe went into exile in the early 1960’s, where he continued his work in exile. Nokwe died in Lusaka on 12 January 1978 at the age of 50.
