Cape Town - Langa, the oldest township in the Western Cape, is celebrating a centenary since its establishment.
The celebrations started on Tuesday with the “Tuesday Special” honouring women and men who came out of the township and helped put it on the world map.
While online history suggests that the township was officially established in 1927, one of the organising committee members, Alfred Magwaca, said the initial move into the area was in April 1923 and it was officially opened in 1927, which meant it was now 100 years old.
This distorted history, Magcwaca said, had led to most people believing that the township was now 96 years old.
He said the history of the area would be shared through exhibitions that are part of the celebrations which will continue throughout the year.
The first icon to be honoured on Tuesday was Brenda Fassie, a pop superstar who passed away in May 2004.
Fassie was born on November 3, 1964 in Langa. She released numerous albums which scored her South African Music Awards and reached platinum status.
Named after Xhosa chief Langalibalele who was imprisoned on Robben Island in 1873 for rebelling against the Natal government.
The township was also home to music and sports icons such as Dr. Latozi Madosini who recently passed away, Ringo Madlingozi, cricketer Temba Bavuma, Hamilton Nake, a self-taught surgeon who worked alongside Dr. Christiaan Barnard when he performed the first human heart transplant in 1967, Sylvia Ncediwe Mdunyelwa and Thoko Ntshinga.
Magwaca said the ‘Special Tuesday’ would lead up to a range of activities and programmes from April until December.
“For now, we have started with acknowledging and honouring the legends and icons to have come out of the township that have made this area to be the attraction that it has become.
“We are however not honouring the dead but also the living and the younger generation that is making inroads in their respective sectors and are putting the township on the world map,” he said.
One of the organisers Siseko Mngxali, said the rich history of Langa was worth celebrating and shared with the future generations.
He said the township was the most visited after Soweto and has contributed immensely to the history of black townships nationally.
