For history buff Vuka, Soweto is about loxion, loxion, loxion
Man About Township | Vuka Tshabalala’s interest in local history has seen him found a museum and conduct tours
VUKA Tshabalala is as much a part of Soweto as anyone can be. His family has been living in the oldest house in Orlando for years, he was arrested and detained for three months as an 11-year-old during the June 16 1976 uprising, and he has been fighting for the preservation of heritage sites in the township.
About his arrest, he said: “A building at Orlando High School was set alight and the police blamed me and my brother because we lived opposite the school. I was 11 at the time.
“My brother was killed the next year, days before he was to go into exile.”
Tshabalala, 51, is the founder and CEO of the James Mpanza Legacy Foundation, which was founded in 2010 to preserve the legacy of James “Magebula” Mpanza, “the father of Soweto”.
Through his work with the foundation, Tshabalala has seen numerous buildings and sites in Orlando being given heritage status in recent years, including Orlando High School, which is known as “The Rock”, the Orlando East library, and the Donaldson Orlando Community Centre, among others.
Tshabalala’s family home, 1 Mooki Street, was the first house built in Orlando.
“It was built by white artisans as a showhouse when people were forcibly removed and moved here,” he said.
The house now plays a central role in the Orlando East Heritage Precinct that has come about as a result of Tshabalala’s work to preserve the history of Orlando and is the starting point for his heritage walks.
Last year, when cement company Lafarge became the title sponsor of Orlando Stadium, Tshabalala was the first to speak out about it.
“When they changed the name, I objected to it. What’s in a name, you may ask? But the history is priceless,” he said.
“It is the community’s spiritual home. You can’t just change the name of Orlando Stadium without consulting the community first.”
Although Tshabalala hasn’t been successful in having the name of Lafarge Orlando Stadium changed back to what he and the community would prefer, he said he won’t stop trying.
Tshabalala said his interest in history — which was fuelled from an early age by his parents — was what led him on his current path.
“Our history is priceless. If you don’t know our history, you don’t know our future. There’s a fire that is burning inside me,” said Tshabalala. “I can’t stop if I live and breathe heritage.”
Last year, he was honoured by the National Heritage Council of South Africa for starting the first township living museum, the Magebula Mpanza Museum, which was done through the foundation.
The council said: “This museum was declared a provincial heritage site on 24 September 2011. [It] is visited by over 4 200 tourists a month. They are informed about the establishment of Soweto and surrounding areas.”
Flo Bird, chairwoman of the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, described the work Tshabalala and the foundation have been doing as “wonderful” and “extraordinary”.
“We were delighted to work with them. We’re trying to get honours boards up at schools, so schools have more knowledge about their own heritage,” she said.
Tshabalala said honours boards were not something one saw at township schools, but he was keen to change that and was busy with research into past pupils of eight schools in the area.
Our history is priceless. If you don’t know our history, you don’t know our future