Gauteng High Court staff want SA to be 'proudly African' ahead of Heritage Day

Pretoria - Staff at the Gauteng High Court Pretoria got into the spirit of Heritage Day when most of them dressed in their traditional attire to celebrate their different cultures.

The quart yard at the court was abuzz with African music and the braai fires were ablaze.

Pretoria’s Judge President Dunstan Mlambo on Friday took time in his busy schedule to wish his staff a happy Heritage Day. Dressed in traditional attire, Judge Mlambo’s message was to embrace each and every culture. “Let us celebrate being African and let us embrace each other so that we can move forward,” he told his staff.

Judge president Dunstan Mlambo called on people to

embrace each and every culture. Picture: Zelda Venter

Chief librarian at the court, Nelisiwe Shandu, dressed in a mixture of Ndebele and Xhosa colours, said she is actually a Zulu, but she also embraced other cultures.

Heritage Day symbolises who we are as Africans. It gives definition to our cultures and it shows how diverse we are, yet we are one nation.”

She said being African is something we all should be proud of. “It is not just about our attire, being African is so much more. It's about what we eat and drink, our music and where we come from across the country.”

Court manager Salome Nyakale also took time to attend the celebrations on Friday and to wish her staff all the best ahead of this important

day.

“We should know each other in our workplace and know where we are from. We are all Africans and we should appreciate and respect each other’s traditions and cultures.”

Nyakale said celebrating Heritage Day in this division has been a tradition for many years and it will continue in the future, as it is an important occasion. “Next year we will also involve the other divisions of the courts,” she said.

Sophie Maloka, a procurement clerk at the court, dressed in a colourful Ndebele outfit, led the group in singing and dancing to the beat of African music.