Langa is an area of Cape Town that feels miles away from the historic city centre and the pretty coastal suburbs that predominantly house the white population. In reality, Langa township is not that far away, but it’s where you’ll see a very different side to South Africa’s vibrant capital.
Millions of people still live in townships like Langa, which were developed in the 1920s due to a new Urban Areas Act. The law was designed to force Africans to move from their homes into segregated locations, so townships were created for Blacks, Coloureds and Indians. And after visiting Langa, Cape Town’s oldest township, I felt the city was just as segregated today as it was then.
My friend and I visited Langa with Siviwe Tours. You can go to a township on your own, but I think you’ll get much more out of a visit on a tour. Our guide Zuzi lives in Langa and she started the tour with the history of both the township and her own family. She explained that Langa was established in 1923 for men who came from farms in rural areas, usually by force, and lived in hostel accommodation. Women were not allowed, so if wives visited their husbands, it was in secret and they risked beatings if caught. The men were issued with ‘stupid passes’ which only allowed them to be in the township and their place of work until they were abolished in the 1950s. Zuzi’s grandfather lived in Langa while his wife worked as a domestic for a white family in the affluent Constantia neighbourhood.
Zuzi then took us around the township to highlight three very different types of housing. We started with lower-class housing, which is very poor. We mainly saw shacks made of scrap metal and cardboard or shipping containers. Bathroom facilities were limited, often shared and inside nearby buildings like former hostels. One narrow ‘road’ in this area was covered in rubbish and a lady was making beer in the street using an open fire to heat it up in a metal barrel.
The people living like this are on the waiting list for an actual home, but it can be a long wait. Some have created ramshackle shops, though by contrast, in one street there’s an art gallery which is a very cool space. It was funded by beneficiaries and displays works by artists who come from the township. They also have a kitchen garden to grow produce and there are other gardens around the township, including in the grounds of the Langa police station, where tyres are used instead of vegetable beds.
What the lower-class residents are aspiring to are the middle-class houses. As soon as you walk down one of these streets, it feels quite different. There are pavements, trees and cars parked outside homes. They are all built very close together, but it’s a big improvement.
Then there is the upper-class area, referred to by Zuzi as the ‘Beverly Hills’ of Langa. These are big houses with driveways and many have security fences. She told us that the people living here tend to be doctors, architects and lawyers who were born in Langa. They could have moved to a nicer Cape Town suburb but decided to stay and give back to the community that raised them.
And despite the class differences, Langa clearly is a community. Most people harbour aspirations rather than resentment and bad behaviour is dealt with. Zuzi told us about a gang situation that had emerged and led to her cousin leaving Langa, but it was resolved and he was able to return.
There’s also a fabulous arts centre at the heart of the Langa community. Our tour started and finished at Guga S’Thebe Arts & Cultural Centre, which is decorated with ceramic murals and has a theatre constructed from recycled materials. You can also watch pottery being made there and buy the end products as well as other items in the centre’s shop.
Near the arts centre, you’ll also spot the colourful Langa Mosaic Plinths. Each side of a plinth is decorated with a theme related to the township’s past. It’s one of the ways you can learn about the history of Langa during your visit while also realising that the segregation of South Africa’s past is still very much in evidence today.
For more posts about my trip to South Africa, visit the Africa section of my blog.