“Mandela used to fight with people that ever since there is black government people are complaining unemployment is high, the crime is high,” Maqubela remembers. With its restaurants, boutiques and bars, this buzzing boulevard is no ordinary residential road.įor local entrepreneur Sakhumzi Maqubela, it was words spoken by the iconic freedom fighter that inspired him to open a restaurant in the area – and provide employment for people in his community. Here, visitors from all over the world walk past traditional dancers, hawkers and waiting taxis to visit the building that was Mandela’s home when he walked free from prison on Robben Island in 1990. And this claim to fame is paying dividends for current residents – helping transform the area into a thriving business community. Yet, Vilakazi Street in the heart of bustling Soweto has been exactly that, housing both South African leaders Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Not many streets have been home to a Nobel Laureate – and even fewer have been home to two.
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