The Royal House of Mandela has thrown its weight behind renaming Cape Town International Airport after Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. At Madikizela-Mandela’s funeral in Soweto last year, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (a far-left South African political party) Julius Malema made the first call for the name change, having said that if the African National Congress (governing party) was serious about honouring maWinnie and her legacy, it should name the Mother City’s airport after her.
Political parties disagreed in Parliament over the name change of the airport, with the ANC saying all names of Struggle heroes and heroines needed to be considered. The Airports Company South Africa has given the public until June 6, 2019 to submit names for the change. Once the public process is complete, a report of conclusions and recommendations will be compiled. Other names put forward include Struggle icons Albertina Sisulu, Nelson Mandela, Chris Hani, Robert Sobukwe and Alex La Guma.