International Students Enjoy Historical Tour of Inanda Township

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International students were treated to an exciting historical tour of Inanda, a large settlement north-west of Durban.

Organised by UKZN’s International Relations Office, the tour was conducted by a guide from the Durban Tourism Office, Mr Khetha Mkhize, on the double-decker Durban Ricksha Bus.

The bus was named after the Durban beachfront’s popular Ricksha carriers who were introduced from Japan by Sir Richard Campbell in the early 1890s.

Students were driven along the Inanda Heritage Route, well known for its rich political history, with the first stop being the Phoenix Settlement, established in 1904 by Mahatma Gandhi, which later also became his home. Gandhi, a lawyer by profession who arrived in South Africa in 1893 to develop the first non-racial settlement, became one of the most iconic political rights activists in the fight against racism, division and poverty.

The visitors learned that some of Gandhi’s most notable sayings include: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”; “An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind”; and “There are seven deadly sins in the world: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and politics without principle”.

The students learned about Gandhi’s wife, Kasturba Gandhi, an activist who built in her name, Kasturba Primary, honouring her work and belief in the importance of education.

Noting that Gandhi had two neighbours, Prophet Isaiah Shembe and Dr John Langalibalele Dube, the tour guide explained how Shembe - a man of God - established a “peaceful religion” in the form of the Nazareth Baptist Church as a counter to the death and destruction that occurred during the time of rule of Zulu kings Shaka and Dingane.

Shembe started the church in 1910 after it is said he was visited by his ancestors who instructed him to do so in order to heal the Zulu nation. Currently, there are approximately four million Shembe followers who have their headquarters in ekuPhakameni and eBuhleni where they observe a holy month in remembrance of the works of their founder.

The group then visited the Ohlanga Institute which was founded by Dube, the first elected president of the African National Congress (ANC) and the first Black person in South Africa to establish a school, Ohlanga High School, which he did in the mid-1900s. The school is today renowned for producing South African greats such as former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and current Chief Justice Raymond Zondo as well as Ukhozi FM broadcaster Dudu “Lady D” Khoza.

Dube, who studied in Alabama in the United States of America, later returned to marry Nokutela Mdima. He founded a newspaper titled ILanga Lase Natal which was published in isiZulu and isiSotho and is still in existence today as ILanga, while Nokutela - who was a musician - wrote and composed South Africa’s national anthem, Nkosi Sikelela iAfrika.

Dube, who was born in Inanda and completed his schooling at Adams College in Amanzimtoti, is buried in the grounds of the Ohlanga Institute - designated a heritage site - alongside his family members. In 1994, the first democratically elected president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, cast his first democratic vote at the Institute paying special tribute to Dube as the party’s first leader.

Dube’s legacy lives on through his works and some of his prominent sayings, namely: “Teach the brain to work, the heart to understand and the hand to serve”; and “On the land on which he resides he is not free, in the house in which he stays he is not free, on the path he walks he is not free, and in towns to which he goes for work purposes he is not free, when shall the Black man be free of restrictions of this land?”

Ms Sylvia Anzagi and Ms Jane Kariuki of Kenyatte University (in Kenya) who are visiting UKZN through a staff mobility programme, said it was exciting for them to be in South Africa. Commenting on the Inanda tour, Anzagi said: ‘It has given us a glimpse of the history of the country and it’s been good to learn and appreciate how far this country has come. We have also loved the food and had a swell time here.’

Mr Takudzwa Tivaringe, who is studying towards a Bachelor of Environmental Management degree on the Pietermaritzburg campus, said the trip was amazing, as it had enabled the group to familiarise themselves with the city of Durban, while Mr John Alake, a PhD student in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, said he was happy to meet and network with students from the different campuses.

Students were treated to a shisanyama lunch while overlooking the impressive views of Durban from the Howard College campus.

Words: Hlengiwe Khwela

Photograph: Sethu Dlamini