MZANZI TRAVEL - ISSUE 1

ORLANDO TOWERS
Originally the site of a coal fired power station, the Orlando
Towers have become one of the most distinctive landmarks in
Soweto.
Looking for action? The Orlando Towers is the ultimate actionjunkie
attraction with go-karting, paintball shooting, quad
biking, rock climbing and bungee jumping!
At the base of the Orlando Towers lies Chaf Pozi, a popular shisa
nyama and entertainment centre. Although the venue is known
for its meat, the menu also caters for vegetarian and Halaal
patrons. Chaf Pozi frequently hosts well-known and up-andcoming
local artists and DJs, and is also available for corporate
events and general celebrations.
At Chaf Pozi, diners get to select their own meat and spices
from the “butchery” and to enjoy a drink on the verandah
while their meat cooks on the braai. The menu includes
mutton, beef,chicken, wors, samp, pap and fiery chakalaka.
The restaurant can accomodate up to 1 000 patrons at a time
making it a suitable venue for groups and parties. Transport
can be arranged from other areas of the city to the restaurant.
Open daily.
Visit: www.orlandotowers.co.za
or Call: 071 674 4343
image of Pieterson’s body being carried by high school student
Mbuyisa Makhubo, with his sister, Antoinette Sithole, running
alongside, is a graphic representation of repression under the
apartheid regime
In the early 1990s, the Hector Pieterson Memorial was erected
on Khumalo Street, not far from where Pieterson was shot.
On 16 June 2002, the Hector Pieterson Museum opened on
Maseko Street. The museum, dedicated to preserving the
memory of the 1976 uprising, is home to a collection of oral
testimonies, pictures, audiovisual displays and historical
documents relating to the Soweto uprisings. Together with the
memorial, it commemorates those who died in the uprisings,
and celebrates the students’ role in the struggle for freedom.
Visit: www.gauteng.net
Or Call: 011 085 2500
HECTOR PIETERSON MEMORIAL AND
MUSEUM
The Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum, situated
in Orlando West, Soweto, commemorates the role of the
country’s students in the struggle against apartheid. The two
commemorative sites are just a few blocks from where 12-yearold
Hector Pieterson was shot in 1976.
On 16 June 1976, Soweto high school students took to the
streets in a peaceful protest against the mandatory use of
Afrikaans as a language of instruction in black secondary
schools.
The students planned to meet at Orlando Stadium before
marching to the regional offices of the Department of Bantu
Education, where they intended raising their grievances with
the authorities. They carried placards that read, “Away with
Afrikaans”, “Amandla awethu” (“Power to the people”) and
“Free Azania” (“Free South Africa”), and sangNkosi Sikelel’
iAfrika (God Bless Africa), now the national anthem of South
Africa.
On the way to the stadium, they were met by the police,
who ordered them to end the march and disperse. A violent
confrontation ensued, in which students threw stones and
police fired shots. News of the events in Soweto soon spread,
igniting uprisings around the country in which more than 550
people died. One of the first to die on June 16 was Pieterson.
Sam Nzima, a photographer for The World newspaper in
Johannesburg, was in Soweto, covering the riots. His iconic
32 |ISSUE 1|www.mzanzitravel.co.za | MZANZI TRAVEL