Cape Town - Hubert “Matata” Somlota was a newborn baby the day his family was forcibly removed from Simon’s Town to Gugulethu. Now, more than 50 years later, they will return to homes built on scenic hills on prime land overlooking the sea.
On Tuesday, mayor Patricia de Lille took part in the sod-turning at Dido Valley, saying it was a great opportunity for reconciliation and bringing communities back together.
The rain made it an indoor affair, at the nearby naval base.
The R40 million project will comprise 600 families in double-storey maisonette-style homes, with construction due to start in this financial year.
Five hundred of the beneficiaries are from Red Hill and the remaining 100 families are land restitution beneficiaries who were forcibly removed to Gugulethu in 1965.
Somlota’s sister, Lungiswa Somlota, was one of the driving forces behind the restitution project.
As secretary of the Luyolo Restitution Committee and Simon’s Town Restitution Development Trust, she said the claim was lodged before 1998 and the journey had not been easy.
“The move took people’s dignity, their identity, and their sense of culture. Moving them stripped them of who they were.”
But she said she doesn’t know if the land provided would be a final solution because only a small percentage of people would return.
Some settled for a small compensation and there are still descendants of Simon’s Town families who are landless and living in backyards in Gugulethu.
“We see this as phase 1 - a key to open the door to restitution for all descendants of those removed from Simon’s Town.”
De Lille said Dido Valley would be getting its own clinic, two parks, a creche and a business site so that more jobs would be available close to where people lived.
Cape Argus