It's business 'unusual' next to Mama Winnie's Soweto home

Masedi Street‚ which leads to the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s home in Orlando West‚ Soweto‚ currently resembles a shopping mall.

Entrepreneurs in the country’s biggest township are capitalising on the hordes of people visiting the home of Mama Winnie to pay their final respects to the late struggle icon.

The “hustlers” have lined both sides of the road to provide all sorts of goods to visitors.

Available in this "street mall" are books‚ ANC regalia‚ flags‚ banners and township food. The latter includes the famous kotas and full meal with salads. Some of the entrepreneurs are selling sunglasses while others are offering to take one’s picture with a favourite person and print it at the same time.

Another street‚ Mampuru‚ which starts about 100m from Mama Winnie’s home‚ has also been turned into a street mall.

“I started on Tuesday with kotas. These are original kotas of mince meat‚ mashed potatoes and achar. Not the one with cheese‚ chips and polony. But we only started with kotas at 3pm. Before then we offered a plate of pap‚ sausage‚ gravy and two salads for R40. Today we are offering the same meal but without salads for R30 and it is picking up‚” Sis Phindi told TimesLIVE on Wednesday.

“We should be hustlers‚” she said.

She said her customers were anybody coming to visit Mama Winnie’s home. These include politicians‚ journalists‚ police‚ traffic police‚ students‚ neighbours and tourists.

Members of the ANC's national executive committee (NEC) are expected to visit the family in Soweto on Thursday.

Masedi Street is not far from the famous Vilakazi Street. Tourists visiting Vilakazi Street have also been coming to Masedi Street‚ where Mama Winnie’s home is‚ to witness the spectacle of people coming to pay their final respects to the mother of the nation.

Sis Phindi said she hoped to make more money in the days leading up to the funeral on April 14 at Orlando Stadium.

She also sells food during soccer games.