Wandies Restaurant, Nelson Mandela’s Home Made My Day
Oct 18, 2002
I wanted to put my business card near former Member of Parliament Elly Karuhanga’s at Wandies Restaurant in the South Western Township (SOWETO).
By Edith Kimuli
I wanted to put my business card near former Member of Parliament Elly Karuhanga’s at Wandies Restaurant in the South Western Township (SOWETO).
Karuhanga’s business card is one of the hundreds that are hanging on the walls of the Wandies. It is the only Ugandan business card I saw there. Currency notes from different countries are also displayed on the walls of Wandies.
I, however, opted for a less squeezed place in another corner, so that another card from Uganda could also be visible in this historical area.
A tour of Soweto cannot be complete unless one eats from this famous restaurant. Unfortunately, it is for adults only, because alcohol is sold there –– and not adults of 18 years, but 21 and above.
I had to make another trip to Soweto to have lunch at Wandies so that my tour could be ‘complete.’
Wandies is booming with business as nearly every tourist, who goes to Soweto, has to stop over to have something to eat. Many put their business cards and inscriptions on the walls of the small restaurant.
It has a variety of African foods, which may be difficult to get in the nearby Johannesburg. People queue for over 15 minutes before getting to the food, but it is worth the wait.
Evander Holyfield, the former world heavy weight champion visited this restaurant, while on holiday after the boxing match when his opponet Mike Tyson bit his ear,†Sam, our guide tells us. The small two-room eating house, was packed with different kinds of people, most of them whites.
A few years ago, no white person would cross to the place, because it was meant for blacks alone.
Wandies is in the centre of Soweto, a township, where Nelson Mandela, Desmund Tutu and several other South African celebrities stayed.
Soweto has transformed from a centre of struggle against apartheid to a clean peaceful residential area, which many people are proud of.
“I am Sam from Soweto,†Sam of Udway Transfers and Tours tells us immediately on embarking from his car. He was travelling from Johannesburg to Soweto.
Soweto is not as filthy as the name may sound. It is cleaner than Kampala. You hardly see rubbish on the streets or on one of the compounds in Soweto.
The largest part of Soweto is covered by permanent, though small residential houses. There are centres with shacks, that constitute the ‘slums’ of the area. Life is normal, save for the tourists that flock the area.
Soweto is located about 15km away from the centre of Johannesb-urg. It is some 63sq.km. It also has a commercial centre.
One of the remarkable sites is the Regina Mundi Church, a historical site, where blacks gathered to hold prayers and meetings on how to fight apartheid.
We are driven to another side where we find the house that Winnie Mandela built while still Nelson Mandela’s wife. The two never stayed in the house.
The storied house has tinted glasses and there is no sign of occupancy. “Winnie does not live here all the time, she has several homes,†our guide tells us.
Our guide told us Winnie now has a kindergarten in her compound, surrounded by a high fence.
Just a few metres away is Bishop Desmund Tutu’s house, which is now being occupied by his son, as the bishop shifted to Cape Town.
Another tourist attraction in the same area, is the Moris Isaacson School, where children were killed in 1976, as they protested the use of Afrikaans as a language for communication in schools.
A 13-year old, Hector Pieterson, was the first to be killed by police and his school remains a stop-over for tourists.
A Hector Pieterson Museum has been built in remembrance of the boy, who is now considered a hero.
The museum, run by his sister Antoinette Sithole, who was 15 years by the time Hector was killed, contains videos, paper cuttings and photographs about the June 16, 1976 demonstration and killing of Soweto students.
A picture of Sithole crying and man carrying Hector’s body is one of the magnified pictures on the walls of the three-storied museum.
During normal days, between 200-300 people flock the museum everyday, but this time thousands came owing to the world summit which was taking place in South Africa. Sithole says she has over time realised that her brother’s blood was not shed in vain, as sanity is returning to the country.
“Working here and speaking to people uplifts me when they tell me what happens in their countries. I feel my brother did not die in vain,â€
“However, things are not yet okay, apartheid cannot go with a wink of an eye, after 38 years. But we are moving forward, some are still clutching, people are moving on. Some people take long to heal, but each person has to deal with the problem personally,†she says.
Nelson and Winnie Mandela’s former home was a big crowd puller, as it was opened just before the World Summit on Sustainable development. “This place is usually locked, but because of this big event, we had to open it and let people see where Mandela lived before he was arrested in 1956,â€said Jane Moankwane, the guide at the house.
One pays 20 Rand (about sh4,000) to enter the house, that has two small bedrooms with a tiny living room and a small kitchen.
There are wine glasses and bottles of wine in the living room, one of which were given to him by a friend from Robbens Island, where he spent several years in prison.
A map named “Viva Africa Map†pictures on Mandela in his youthful days, those of his children and Win-nie hang in the living room which is about four to eight feet wide.
On the right hand of the living room, is the children room, where Mandela’s daughters by Winnie –– Zinzi and Makazibwe used to sleep before they were taken to boarding schools after their father’s arrest. “The children are not interested in politics, Zinzi is doing business, while Makazibwe is a doctor,†says the guide.
She says the children had to be removed from this house because their security was threatened.
Next to the children’s room is a small kitchen, that has a pantry (sink), cupboards and a two-door refrigerator which is permanently locked. The guide says there were several attempts to poison Nelson Mandela, that is why the refrigerator is permanently locked as a lesson to people to be careful with what they eat.
Mandela’s bedroom is decorated with several attires donated to him by friends from different countries. Robs donated to him from Ghana, Nigeria and New York hang on the walls of the bedroom. Twelve jackals were killed to make Mandela’s bedcover on a 4 by 6ft bed.
Also in the house are jungle boots and a pair of shoes he forgot in Tanzania, during apartheid struggles. The shoes were brought to him later by a woman who picked them.
A lawyer by profession, Mandela has several books on his shelve in his bedroom, which was able to accommodate a small reading table.
Mandela stayed in this house again for only 11 days after his release from prison on February 11, 1990. He left the place because there were many visitors coming to his place as early as 5:00am. “Don’t they have anything better to do?†he used to ask.
Ends
I wanted to put my business card near former Member of Parliament Elly Karuhanga’s at Wandies Restaurant in the South Western Township (SOWETO).
Karuhanga’s business card is one of the hundreds that are hanging on the walls of the Wandies. It is the only Ugandan business card I saw there. Currency notes from different countries are also displayed on the walls of Wandies.
I, however, opted for a less squeezed place in another corner, so that another card from Uganda could also be visible in this historical area.
A tour of Soweto cannot be complete unless one eats from this famous restaurant. Unfortunately, it is for adults only, because alcohol is sold there –– and not adults of 18 years, but 21 and above.
I had to make another trip to Soweto to have lunch at Wandies so that my tour could be ‘complete.’
Wandies is booming with business as nearly every tourist, who goes to Soweto, has to stop over to have something to eat. Many put their business cards and inscriptions on the walls of the small restaurant.
It has a variety of African foods, which may be difficult to get in the nearby Johannesburg. People queue for over 15 minutes before getting to the food, but it is worth the wait.
Evander Holyfield, the former world heavy weight champion visited this restaurant, while on holiday after the boxing match when his opponet Mike Tyson bit his ear,†Sam, our guide tells us. The small two-room eating house, was packed with different kinds of people, most of them whites.
A few years ago, no white person would cross to the place, because it was meant for blacks alone.
Wandies is in the centre of Soweto, a township, where Nelson Mandela, Desmund Tutu and several other South African celebrities stayed.
Soweto has transformed from a centre of struggle against apartheid to a clean peaceful residential area, which many people are proud of.
“I am Sam from Soweto,†Sam of Udway Transfers and Tours tells us immediately on embarking from his car. He was travelling from Johannesburg to Soweto.
Soweto is not as filthy as the name may sound. It is cleaner than Kampala. You hardly see rubbish on the streets or on one of the compounds in Soweto.
The largest part of Soweto is covered by permanent, though small residential houses. There are centres with shacks, that constitute the ‘slums’ of the area. Life is normal, save for the tourists that flock the area.
Soweto is located about 15km away from the centre of Johannesb-urg. It is some 63sq.km. It also has a commercial centre.
One of the remarkable sites is the Regina Mundi Church, a historical site, where blacks gathered to hold prayers and meetings on how to fight apartheid.
We are driven to another side where we find the house that Winnie Mandela built while still Nelson Mandela’s wife. The two never stayed in the house.
The storied house has tinted glasses and there is no sign of occupancy. “Winnie does not live here all the time, she has several homes,†our guide tells us.
Our guide told us Winnie now has a kindergarten in her compound, surrounded by a high fence.
Just a few metres away is Bishop Desmund Tutu’s house, which is now being occupied by his son, as the bishop shifted to Cape Town.
Another tourist attraction in the same area, is the Moris Isaacson School, where children were killed in 1976, as they protested the use of Afrikaans as a language for communication in schools.
A 13-year old, Hector Pieterson, was the first to be killed by police and his school remains a stop-over for tourists.
A Hector Pieterson Museum has been built in remembrance of the boy, who is now considered a hero.
The museum, run by his sister Antoinette Sithole, who was 15 years by the time Hector was killed, contains videos, paper cuttings and photographs about the June 16, 1976 demonstration and killing of Soweto students.
A picture of Sithole crying and man carrying Hector’s body is one of the magnified pictures on the walls of the three-storied museum.
During normal days, between 200-300 people flock the museum everyday, but this time thousands came owing to the world summit which was taking place in South Africa. Sithole says she has over time realised that her brother’s blood was not shed in vain, as sanity is returning to the country.
“Working here and speaking to people uplifts me when they tell me what happens in their countries. I feel my brother did not die in vain,â€
“However, things are not yet okay, apartheid cannot go with a wink of an eye, after 38 years. But we are moving forward, some are still clutching, people are moving on. Some people take long to heal, but each person has to deal with the problem personally,†she says.
Nelson and Winnie Mandela’s former home was a big crowd puller, as it was opened just before the World Summit on Sustainable development. “This place is usually locked, but because of this big event, we had to open it and let people see where Mandela lived before he was arrested in 1956,â€said Jane Moankwane, the guide at the house.
One pays 20 Rand (about sh4,000) to enter the house, that has two small bedrooms with a tiny living room and a small kitchen.
There are wine glasses and bottles of wine in the living room, one of which were given to him by a friend from Robbens Island, where he spent several years in prison.
A map named “Viva Africa Map†pictures on Mandela in his youthful days, those of his children and Win-nie hang in the living room which is about four to eight feet wide.
On the right hand of the living room, is the children room, where Mandela’s daughters by Winnie –– Zinzi and Makazibwe used to sleep before they were taken to boarding schools after their father’s arrest. “The children are not interested in politics, Zinzi is doing business, while Makazibwe is a doctor,†says the guide.
She says the children had to be removed from this house because their security was threatened.
Next to the children’s room is a small kitchen, that has a pantry (sink), cupboards and a two-door refrigerator which is permanently locked. The guide says there were several attempts to poison Nelson Mandela, that is why the refrigerator is permanently locked as a lesson to people to be careful with what they eat.
Mandela’s bedroom is decorated with several attires donated to him by friends from different countries. Robs donated to him from Ghana, Nigeria and New York hang on the walls of the bedroom. Twelve jackals were killed to make Mandela’s bedcover on a 4 by 6ft bed.
Also in the house are jungle boots and a pair of shoes he forgot in Tanzania, during apartheid struggles. The shoes were brought to him later by a woman who picked them.
A lawyer by profession, Mandela has several books on his shelve in his bedroom, which was able to accommodate a small reading table.
Mandela stayed in this house again for only 11 days after his release from prison on February 11, 1990. He left the place because there were many visitors coming to his place as early as 5:00am. “Don’t they have anything better to do?†he used to ask.
Ends