Cape Town - Centenarian land claimant, Shariefa Khan, will later this week finally fulfil her dream to return to District Six.
While ecstatic to move into a beautiful home, the Khan family have appealed for help to make her new bathroom more wheelchair accessible.
Khan, District Six’s oldest living land claimant at 100 years old, recently became one of 108 claimants who the Department of Land Reform announced as one of the beneficiaries in phase 3 of the restitution process.
“I am very excited. The place is beautiful and I cannot wait to go back to District Six,” Khan said.
Nadiema Khan, 68, who will be living with her mother, said they were excited when they got the news.
“We went to the house last week where we had a chance to view the property and it is beautiful. We will, however, have to make a few renovations to make the bathroom more accessible for my mom.
“While there are a few things that we will have to install at our own expense such as burglar bars... The bath will have to be taken out completely for a walk-in shower,” she said.
Nadiema said her mother, who had suffered a stroke last year, was very excited to return to District Six, and the family were hopeful that this would have a positive impact on her health.
“She is a very strong-willed woman and when we went to view the place (last week) she was beaming. She couldn’t be happier. We are hoping that the atmosphere with the views of the mountain will have a positive impact on her health.”
Before their eviction, Khan lived with her husband, Dawood, and six children in the Bailey Flats in Hanover Street, close to the Avalon Bioscope where they also owned Bombay Café, famous for its Indian and Cape Malay cuisine.
The family moved to Rylands on the Cape Flats where they lived for the past six decades.
The District 6 Working Committee (D6WC) said they were thankful that the process has finally came to fruition, after months of frustration and added stress and trauma for the claimants, many of whom are old and found the application and appeals processes difficult.
D6WC spokesperson Karen Breytenbach said: “Over the past few months, the D6WC continuously appealed for greater transparency and clarity on the phase 3 process from the department, who have still not issued the list of successful claimants under phase 3. The D6WC looks forward to working closely with the state to ensure that our most elderly and vulnerable claimants are prioritised for return to District Six during not only phase 3, but also phase 4 which is scheduled for completion in 2024.”
To assist the Khan family with the needed renovations, call Nadiema on 084 892 8684
Cape Times