Gugulethu is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and is 15 km from

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. Its name is a contraction of ''igugu lethu'', which is Xhosa for ''our pride''. The township was established along with Nyanga in the 1960s.

History

The name is a contraction of ''igugu lethu'', which is Xhosa for ''our pride''. Gugulethu, along with

Nyanga Nyanga may mean: *Nyanga Province, of Gabon * Nyanga River, in Gabon and Congo *Nyanga people, an ethnic group from Congo *Nyanga, Zimbabwe, a town *Nyanga District, Zimbabwe *Nyanga National Park in Zimbabwe * Nyanga, Western Cape, a township in S ...

, was established in the 1960s due to the overcrowding of Langa, which was the only black residential area for Cape Town at the time. During the

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

era black South Africans were not permitted to live in the city of Cape Town, and many people were removed from areas such as District Six to Gugulethu, Nyanga, and Langa. The predominant language in Gugulethu is Xhosa. Gugulethu is passionately called or referred to as "Gugs" by the locals, which is a nickname stemming from the shortening of the name Gugulethu. Black residents living in Windermere were forcibly moved to Gugulethu when it was declared a black township. Windermere was declared by Apartheid regime to be a colored area. Gugulethu was one of the first townships in Cape Town to have a community information technology Center to provide training in multimedia and youth development.

Places of interest

The 'Gugulethu Seven Memorial' was built to commemorate the life of seven activists that were ambushed and killed by the South African security forces on March 3, 1986. The activists were members of uMkhonto weSizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). The seven murdered were Jabulani Godfery Miya, Zandisile Zenith Mjobo, Zola Alfred Swelani, Mandla Simon Mxinwa, Themba Mlifi, Zabonke, John Konile, and Christopher Piet. On Human Rights Day 2000, the memorial was unveiled. *The Cape Town Jazz Safari is a tour which highlights musical history and jazz in Gugulethu. *Gugulethu Square was created in 2009 as a central business district in the township. *Gugulethu Indoor Sports Complex is an indoor all year round community facility. * Mzoli is a Tshisa Nyama in Gugulethu. It is a meat market and a party. Customers buy meat that is cooked on the spot and accompanied by music. It is stated that it attracts about 30,000 people in a single weekend. *Liziwe's Guest house is owned by Liziwe Ngcokoto. It opened in 2005 and is a member of Cape Town Tourism and Chamber of Commerce. *Maboneng Township Arts Experience in Gugulethu and Langa. Tours that turn homes into art galleries where local artists and crafters turn their homes into art galleries. This is an entrepreneurship project. *Ntonga Music School – in Gugulethu

Notable people

Loyiso Gola Loyiso Gola (born 16 May 1983) is a South African stand-up and TV comedian. He is the co-creator and anchor of the late-night satirical news television series '' Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola'' on e.tv and eNCA, launched in 2010, and has perf ...

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

Ayabulela Konqobe Ayabulela Konqobe Magqwaka (born 12 January 1996) is a South African football (soccer) midfielder who plays for Chippa United. He hails from Gugulethu on the Cape Flats. International career He made his debut for South Africa national soccer ...

, footballer *

Sindiwe Magona Sindiwe Magona (born 27 August 1943) is a South African writer. Early life Magona is a native of the former Transkei region, South Africa. She grew up in Gugulethu, a Cape Town township, and worked as a domestic while completing her secondary ed ...

, author *

Abigail Mbalo-Mokoena Abigail Mbalo-Mokoena is a South African chef and restaurateur. She is the chef, owner and creative director of 4Roomed, also called 4Roomed eKasi Culture or just eKasi, in Khayelitsha township, outside Cape Town, South Africa. In 2019 4Roomed w ...

, restaurateur * Mandisa Monakali, the founder and executive director of Ilitha Labantu * Bantu Mzwakali, footballer * Thando Mngomeni, former

South Africa national football team The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international Association football, soccer and it is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for Soccer in South Africa. The team's nickname is Baf ...

player *

Siv Ngesi Sivuyile Ngesi (born 18 October 1985) is a South African actor, comedian, presenter, and producer. Early life Ngesi was born to a Xhosa family of four children in Gugulethu in the east of Cape Town. He spent his early childhood there before movin ...

, actor, comedian, presenter *

Nobulumko Nkondlo Nobulumko Degracia Nkondlo is a South African African National Congress politician who has served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since November 2016. She succeeded former ANC provincial leader Marius Fransman. Background B ...

, politician, Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament * Ray Ntlokwana, actor *

Jonathan Ntutu Ndodomzi Jonathan Ntutu (born 4 February 1986) is a visually impaired South African sprinter. Ndodomzi Jonathan Ntutu is currently South Africa's fastest ever para-athlete. His 10.80 was posted on April 12, 2018, during the heats of the Commonwe ...

, para-athlete & paralympian, South Africa's fastest ever para-athlete *

Tony Yengeni Tony Sithembiso Yengeni (born 11 October 1954) is a South African politician. He was an anti-Apartheid activist and joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1976 and later its armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. From 1994 until 2003 he served as ...

, politician, former

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

Crime

According to data collected by the

South African Institute of Race Relations Established in 1929,http://www.sairr.org.za/profile/ the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) is a research and policy organisation in South Africa. The institute is "one of the oldest liberal institutions in the country". The in ...

(SAIRR) over 700 people were murdered in Gugulethu between 2005 and 2010. "This amounts to one murder every two-and-a-half days for five consecutive years." In a 2017 study of the 50 most violent cities in the world, Cape Town ranked number 15. Latin America cities ranked the highest with having 42 cities. Brazil having 17, Mexico 12, and Venezuela having five.

Notable incidents

*In March 1986, South Africa's Apartheid security murdered seven young black men. The incident became known as

The Gugulethu Seven The Gugulethu Seven was an anti-apartheid group of men between the ages of 16 and 23 that were shot and killed on 3 March 1986 by members of the South African Police force. The seven men included Mandla Simon Mxinwa, Zanisile Zenith Mjobo, Zola A ...

. The seven men were: Zandisile Zenith Mjobo, Zola Alfred Swelani, Mandla Simon Mxinwa, Godfrey Jabulani Miya, Themba Mlifi, Zabonke John Konile and Christopher "Rasta" Piet. They were members of the military wing of the

known as Umkhonto we Sizwe. *In 2017, Major-General Andre Lincoln stated during his testimony while under cross-examination in the

Western Cape High Court The Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa (previously named the Cape Provincial Division and the Western Cape High Court, and commonly known as the Cape High Court) is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over th ...

that police officers removed evidence from the scenes of government-ordered crimes such as

in the 1980s. *In August 1993, Gugulethu was the site of the violent murder of a young white American woman,

Amy Biehl Amy Elizabeth Biehl (April 26, 1967 – August 25, 1993) was a Fulbright Scholar and American graduate of Stanford University and an anti-Apartheid activist in South Africa who was murdered by Cape Town residents while a black mob shouted an ...

, in the upheaval following the official end of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

and before the multi-racial election of 1994. In 1998, four men were convicted of Amy's murder. They were pardoned by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Ms. Biehl's family supported the release of the four men. They started the

Amy Biehl Foundation Trust The Amy Biehl Foundation Trust was the organization established in Cape Town, South Africa by Linda and Peter Biehl commemorate their daughter Amy Biehl, a white American anti-apartheid activist who was killed by a black mob during racial violence ...

in the townships to work with youth. The foundation's goal to empower young disadvantaged youth by using education and culture to deter crime and drugs. An Amy Biehl Memorial site was created in Gugulethu and tours into the township to see the memorial and visit some of the schools where programs were created by the Amy Biehl Foundation. *In November 2010,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

tourist

Anni Dewani Anni may refer to: * The popular name of Mohamed Nasheed (born 1967), third president of the second republic of the Maldives * Ani, Armenia * Anni Anwander, former West German slalom canoeist * Anni Dewani (1982–2010), Swedish female murder vic ...

was murdered in Gugulethu while on her honeymoon. Anni Dewani's husband became a suspect in the trial of her murder. He fought a three and a half year battle against extradition to South Africa. Accusations and confusions by the accused suspects in the murder that the car-jacking and crime were staged by the billionaire husband

Shrien Dewani Anni Ninna Dewani ( Hindocha; 12 March 1982 – 13 November 2010) was a Swedish woman of Indian origin who was murdered while on her honeymoon in South Africa after the taxi in which she and her husband Shrien Dewani were traveling was hijack ...

. *On June 10, 2014, 62-year-old Mbuyiselo Manona was murdered in Gugulethu by Andrew Chimboza. Chimboza stabbed Manona multiple times. Various news outlets stated that Andrew ate Manona's heart. Chimboza denied it. Chimboza pleaded guilty at the Western Cape High Court of stabbing Mbuyiselo Manona. He did not mention in court anything about removing or eating Manona's heart. *On the evening of the 2 November 2020 the

Gugulethu massacre The Gugulethu massacre was a mass shooting which occurred on the afternoon of 2 November 2020. It took place in a house in NY78, Gugulethu, Cape Town, South Africa and resulted in the death of eight people between the ages of 30 and 50 years old. ...

took place at a home in NY78 in which 8 people died and one was injured.

Organisations and projects in Gugulethu

Treatment Action Campaign The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is a South African HIV/AIDS activist organisation which was co-founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background ...

* Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign

References

{{Cape Town, communities Suburbs of Cape Town Townships in the Western Cape