District Six activist leaves a living legacy
THE VOICE of a stalwart has fallen silent but the legacy of District
Six Working Committee (D6WC) chairperson Shahied Ajam, 62, promises to live on. The news of Ajam’s sudden passing sent shockwaves through the community. He died of a heart attack at his home in Kensington on Saturday.
Ajam took up the baton to fight for restitution for District Six land claimants and was hailed as “one of the great humanitarian leaders of our city”. He was born in District 6 in 1958 and was forcibly removed with his family at the age of 16.
Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Toko Didiza said Ajam would always be remembered for his tireless work in pursuit of restitution for thousands of former District 6 residents who he mobilised and represented with “devotion and selflessness”.
“In recent times Mr Ajam, through his actions and work in consultation with the department, the Commission for Restitution and other stakeholders, contributed greatly in pursuance of a redevelopment plan that is in the process of being implemented to see the return of almost 1 000 forcibly removed families back to District 6.
“It is especially tragic that Mr Ajam will not see this come to fruition… However, Mr Ajam’s passion and devotion to the District 6 community will endure. His legacy of action and activism for his community will always be etched in the fabric of District 6,” said Didiza.
D6WC spokesperson Karen Breytenbach said: “He will go down in history as the visionary who brought tangible restitution and hope to the people of District 6.”
She said that the public participation process related to the vision for a reimagined District 6 was scheduled to resume during July/ August 2020, and reconstruction was to commence later this year. D6WC’s attorney Nicki van’t Riet said: “Shahied changed history by forging a solution which would start bringing people home to District Six.”
He is survived by his widow, Waggieda Ajam, three daughters, his mother, Shariefa Kamaldien, five siblings, three stepchildren and five grandchildren.
Working Committee chairperson Shahied Ajam, centre, has been hailed for his tireless work in pursuit of restitution for thousands of former District Six residents. Ajam died of a heart attack on Saturday.