Cape Town - As part of celebrating 100 years of Langa’s existence, a march was led to recreate a march that helped to shape the community.
The commemoration was held in memory of the late Philip Kgosana, who led a march on March 30, 1960 in defiance of the pass laws.
PAC members, together with community leaders, began a march from the Robert Sobukwe house to the well-known circle in the area next to the taxi rank.
The group reflected on the livelihoods of Africans and focused on the contributions made by leaders of what most people know as the first township in the Western Cape.
Langa Centennial Planning Committee (LCPC) co-ordinator for religion and spirituality, Mnikelo Micheal Bele, said Langa community members took it upon themselves to create LCPC, dividing it into sectors so they can each plan and recreate annual events celebrating 100 years.
“Today marks the day where on March 30, 1960, there was a march that took place starting from Langa to Cape Town CBD led by Philip Kgosana, who was 23 years old at that time and a student at UCT. Kgosana fought for black people, he fought against the idea of carrying a dompas.
“This honour goes to him, as young as he was he saw the pain of black people in Langa and fought against it. His and Roberts Sobukwe’s contribution to the history of Langa does not go unnoticed.”
Guga S’thebe founder Nomthunzi Jacobs encouraged the crowd to keep the history of Langa alive. She noted that Langa was built as a migrant labour hostel with no intentions that one day families would be living comfortably there as they are at the present moment.
“Today we are here to put a stamp on the leadership skills of both Sobukwe and Kgosana. Their leadership led to us breaking free from the law of carrying dompas.
“Together and with all those who took part in the march in 1960, they showed brevity.
“The question will always remain as to why Kgosana showed so much brevity at the age of 23.
“He is what we can call a servant leadership, he did everything thinking about the future of black people whether he is there or not there to experience freedom himself.”