The City of Johannesburg has notified the public that it is considering renaming Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive, following the renaming of William Nicol Drive to Winnie Mandela Drive in September 2023.
The proposed renaming of Sandton Drive was first tabled in 2018 and was supported by the majority of Joburg councillors which saw it being approved by the municipal government.
However, key changes to the proposal following its approval meant it was sent back to the drawing board.
According to City of Joburg ward councillor Martin Williams, Al Jama-ah initially wanted Sandton Drive to be renamed Ramallah City Drive, though this was challenged by the EFF which contended that it should rather be amended to Leila Khaled Drive, with the latter’s suggestion subsequently being selected as the preferred name.
The city therefore reinitiated the renaming process as the changed proposal could open it up for legal challenges, said Williams.
The city has invited the public to submit comments on the new name change, giving affected parties 28 days to do so. Comments can be directed to Dominica Masalesa at [email protected].
Who is Leila Khaled
Leila Khaled is a Palestinian activist and member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
She rose to prominence in 1969 for being the first female to hijack an aeroplane and continued gaining notoriety in the ’70s for more daring acts of rebellion, such as playing a major role in the exploding of four hijacked planes on Dawson’s Field in Jordan, and the confrontation between the Palestinian resistance and the Jordanian army.
While seen as an icon of liberation by some, the proposal to rename Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive has not been met with open arms given she has no direct ties to the City of Johannesburg nor South Africa.
In an opinion piece in The Citizen, councillor Williams said that the original suggestion of Ramallah City Drive would have been less radical than choosing Khaled.
The city’s policy only allows people’s names to be used on official landmarks in “rare cases.”
It reads: “naming… after exceptional people is recognised as being a way of honouring outstanding individuals for their contribution to the development of the city and the country, and should be done sparingly and with careful consideration.”
However, Williams contends that no proponent of the name change has been able to demonstrate how Khaled has made a positive impact on the City of Joburg or the country as a whole.
The metro’s policy further states that “naming after living people should be avoided, because community attitudes and opinions can change over time.”
Khaled is still alive, hence, renaming Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive will breach the parameters of the law.
Additionally, the city’s legislation states that renaming is permissible “where the name change is desirable to promote the goodwill of people now living in the new South Africa.”
Williams argues that the renaming does exactly the opposite of promoting goodwill as it is highly divisive.
“Renaming Sandton Drive serves no purpose other than to antagonise significant sections of the community. And the US, whose consulate is on Sandton Drive,” said Williams.
A poll regarding the name change showed that 98% of participants were against it. Williams thus warns that should public participation processes not be followed correctly, the city will face costly legal challenges if it decides to pursue the change.
“If the city had money to spend, it should go to service delivery, not street renaming,” he concluded.
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