Lentegeur: A community's journey through civic activism

When Lentegeur anti-apartheid activist Arthur Voegt, 73, and his wife Virginia, 72, first moved into their Hibiscus Street home in December 1980, there were many houses all around but not that many residents.

The Voegt couple moved to Mitchell’s Plain from Manenberg with their two young children at the time.

Mr Voegt, who was 28 years old back then, had already had his fair share of being uprooted. He originally grew up in Oudekraal and Woodstock areas before his family was forced to move to Manenberg under the apartheid Group Areas Act.

“When we moved to Lentegeur there weren’t that many people. There were houses all around, but not all of them were occupied yet. The house that I am living in used to be an office of some sort.

“Some schools were built already, and from my house I could see Winners. The store was smaller back then and the police station wasn’t here,” he said.

Mr Voegt recalled his earlier years, attending St Mary’s Primary School in Gardens.

“When I was young, I was at St Mary’s. We didn’t see colour back then. It wasn’t until the 1980s that I started getting actively involved in the anti-apartheid struggle.

I still remember the day that Willie Simmers and the late Johnny Issel came knocking at my door in 1994.

When these two guys came knocking at my door, I thought they were speurders. They introduced themselves and informed me about the Electricity Petition Campaign (EPC). At the time, the City would add a surcharge to people’s electricity bills when they were in arrears.

“It wasn’t long thereafter that I got more involved in the struggle. But even from a young age, I was always thinking about the underprivileged people going through hardships,” he said.

Mr Voegt eventually joined the Mitchell’s Plain Coordinating Committee, which was an umbrella for all the civic organisations in Mitchell’s Plain.

“At one stage, I was elected as chairperson of the Lentegeur Civic Association and later the Combined Lentegeur and Beacon Valley Residents Association (COLBRA).

Anti-apartheid activist Zelda Holtzman was one of my tutors and showed me how to conduct proper meetings.

“I remember the day I was elected treasurer of the UDF Mitchell’s Plain branch. I was reluctant but the late Theresa Solomon, who was seated next to me, hit me in the ribs to say I should put my hand up. That was the good old, bad old days,” Mr Voegt said.

Apart from campaigning for the scrapping of electricity surcharges, Mr Voegt recalls how the Mitchell’s Plain civic organisations campaigned for the area to have its own district office.

Construction of the hospital started in 2010, and it finally opened its doors in 2013.

“Another of our tasks was to campaign for the Lentegeur Post office, which we achieved,” Mr Voegt added.

Mr Voegt said, despite the political unrest of the time, the Lentegeur of the 1980s was a safer and quieter area compared to today.

“At the time, it was quite peaceful. My fondest memories of the anti-apartheid struggle years are of getting involved in the various campaigns. Back then, we had a sense of responsibility towards the community. We wanted to uplift our community and overthrow the apartheid government so that people would live better. That was the picture we had in our minds back then,” Mr Voegt said.

Across the railway line in Primula Crescent, Lentegeur community activist Patricia Debba, 71, still has fond memories of her upbringing in District Six.

Ms Debba, who also moved to Lentegeur in 1980, has had an instrumental role in helping Lentegeur families who rented their homes from the City for decades secure their title deeds for their properties.

When she moved here with her mother and two children, she struggled to adapt to life in Mitchell’s Plain.

“We moved here in October 1980. We were supposed to move in in June that year, but I delayed coming this side. It was very difficult getting used to life here.

“There was just sand everywhere. We had no shops this side, no churches or mosques. There used to be a red kombi that came around selling goods.

“Unlike in District Six, where we knew everyone, we knew no one here, except one or two people. I worked as a manager in the tourism industry and worked shifts. There were times I had to sleep over at work to make my next shift. My mother was a chef but had to give up her job to look after my children, who were still small,” Ms Debba said.

Ms Debba said in contrast to their previous community, where residents easily accessed newspapers, Lentegeur residents had no quick access to news media in Mitchell’s Plain.

“When the Plainsman came out, it became our main source of information and news. Before the Plainsman, we had no real access to the media like we have today,” she said.

Ms Debba said Lentegeur residents also had limited access to public transport facilities. The nearest bus was available in Lavender Street, which was across the railway line.

“The railway station was here but we had no train service yet. The railway bus transported people to other stations such as Philippi and Heideveld,” she said.

Ms Debba fondly recalled the community activism of residents in the early 1980s and 1990s.

“There was a uniqueness about Mitchell’s Plain residents back then, especially here in Lentegeur. It was a case of ‘all for one, and one for all, and an injury to one is an injury to all’. In many ways this has changed to ‘God for all, and each one for him or herself’,” she said.