By Kouthar Sambo
The renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khalid Drive has resulted in an ongoing rebuttal between pro-Palestine members and those against the move. The Human Rights NGO Africa4Palestine together with Pro-Palestine members held a picket rally on Monday, 14 October in Johannesburg. The event comes in full support of the Johannesburg City Council’s bold and progressive decision to rename Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive.
Speaking on VOC’s PM Drive show on Wednesday, Africa4Palestine’s Alie Komape, described those who oppose the matter, are rather “disingenuous.”
“Firstly, street renamings are part of a government’s job. To suggest money could be saved and that the city does need to invest in this when there is a collapse in infrastructure – they are ignorant because service delivery does not work this way.”
“Just last year (2023) in September, William Nicol Drive was changed to Winnie Mandela Drive – did we hear that it is a vanity project? No. Did we hear that the City could take the money elsewhere and do better? No. But because the renaming this year is associated with the Palestinian cause, all of a sudden the City can do better with its monies,” challenged Komape.
*Feel free to listen further as he unpacks the latest.
Photo: Africa4Palestine/Facebook
