Alexandra Township NEW street names and its HEROES (short history)

Florence Moposho

On 25 October, Vasco da Gama Street will officially become Florence Moposho Street. A prominent activist, Moposho died in exile in 1985. She was the first woman from Alex to be elected to the African National Congress (ANC) national committee.

Moposho participated in many political activities in the township, including the 1957 bus boycott. When the ANC was banned she went into exile and rose up the party's ranks until she was elected to the national executive at the Morogoro Conference in Tanzania in 1969.

Originally from the Free State, Moposho's family settled in Alexandra in 1912 and still lives in the township.

 Joe Nhlanhla

Joseph (Joe) Mbuku Nhlanhla was born on 4 December 1936 in Sophiatown. He was one of the five children of Christina Toli (born Buhali) and Samuel Nhlanhla. Both parents were originally from the Free State Province (formerly known as Orange Free State).

His father moved the family out of Free State after the racism in the  area they were living became intolerable, eventually settling in Sophiatown. Victims of the infamous Sophiatown forced removals, the Nhlanhla family settled in Alexandra township. He attended school at the local school, Ikage Primary School, before enrolling at Kilnerton High School where he matriculated in 1956.

Nhlanhla joined the ANC and its youth wing the ANC Youth League in 1957 and was elected onto the ANCYL's Transvaal executive a year later. During this period he was also involved in the anti-pass campaign as well as the 1957 bus and potato boycotts.

Richard Baloyi

Richard Baloyi is recognised as one of the martyrs of the Alex bus boycotts. A prominent businessman in the township, Baloyi lived in Second Avenue and played a leading role in the area's civic matters, contributing to its general governance and fighting against the injustices meted out to blacks.

He died in 1962 after playing a huge part in reshaping Alex. Hofmeyr Street will be renamed after Baloyi.

Rev. Sam Buti 

In recognition of his role in the "Save Alexandra" campaign which ended victoriously in 1997, Selbourne Street will be named after Reverend Sam Buti. Buti played a big role in a campaign to look for alternative accommodation when Alex was condemned to extinction by a parliamentary resolution in 1958.

He mobilised support to help feed and provide necessities such as blankets, clothes and mattresses for displaced families in Alex. He also helped residents to acquire identity documents, known as "dompas", which allowed blacks to stay in the cities.

Buti is still alive and is expected to be one of the guests at the renaming and commemoration ceremony.

Alfred Nzo 

One of the well-known roads in Alex, Roosevelt Street, will be renamed after struggle stalwart Alfred Nzo. Nzo was the longest serving secretary-general of the ANC. An Alex resident in the 1950s and 1960s, Nzo was a community activist and participated in civic matters and the bus boycott.

He went into exile in 1964 and was elected secretary-general of the party at the Morogoro Conference in Tanzania. After the first democratic elections in 1994, Nzo was appointed minister of foreign affairs. He died in 2000.

 Josias Madzunya

One of the most prominent political activists to emerge from Alex in the 1950s was Josias Madzunya. Well-known for his trademark coat, which he wore whether it was hot or cold, Madzunya was active in the ANC and formed part of the Alexandra and Transvaal leadership.

He participated in the 1950s defiance campaigns against apartheid policies such as Bantu education and laws that excluded blacks from entering certain places. He was arrested many times and was banished to Venda in what is now Limpopo province.

Madzunya died in the early 1970s; Rooth Street will be renamed after him.

Vincent Tshabalala

One of the main streets in Alex, London Road, will be renamed after Vincent Tshabalala, a student and youth activist, and intellectual. Born in 1964, Tshabalala was one of the martyrs of the struggle.

He left South Africa in 1983 and joined the ranks of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC's military wing, later returning on military and underground missions. He was sold out and was killed in a street battle with police at the corner of London Road and 12th Avenue in 1985.