Mzansi split on William Nicol Drive being renamed after Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

03 October 2018 - 09:44

By Kyle Zeeman

The internet was about as busy as daily peak hour traffic on William Nicol Drive on Wednesday after it was confirmed the popular Johannesburg road is set to be named after struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

According to TimesLIVE, Gauteng transport MEC Ismail Vadi confirmed the City of Joburg had passed a resolution to rename the busy road after Ma Winnie in an effort to promote national unity and an inclusive identity.

"We have noted that the City of Johannesburg had resolved last Thursday that William Nicol Drive be renamed Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Drive and the Emfuleni Council has recommended that the R82 be named in honour of Duma Nokwe. These recommendations will be processed by the Gauteng and National Geographic Names Councils for final decision-making," he said.

It is among eight to 10 roads set to be renamed across the province.

On Twitter, the council of "woke" opinions was in session and a raging debate over the decision has been taking place.

While it was generally agreed that Ma should be honoured, some thought it wasn't such a fresh idea to honour her with a road.

Here are some of the #Teams

Mzansi split on William Nicol Drive being renamed after Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

We can't wait!

Start with the airport...or another building

Were we even consulted?

We can't disrespect her name like we do William Nicol

It won't ease the traffic