Nelson Mandela’s birthplace in Mveso and the Egazini battlefield near Grahamstown could be proclaimed national heritage sites said the SA heritage resource agency (Sahra) after a meeting in Grahamstown.
Meanwhile, the site in Hankey where Saartjie Baartman has been reburied will be declared a national heritage site on Sunday.
Mandela was born in Mveso in the former Transkei in 1918.
The Egazini battlefield was where Xhosa chief Makana attacked the Grahamstown settlers in 1819. The declaration of Egazini as a heritage site, meaning the ”Place of Blood”, will be in tribute to the Xhosa warriors who died in the fierce battle.
Sahra cultural officer Neo January said that when a heritage site was proclaimed it was ”ultimately protected by Sahra. No one can interfere with the site without applying for a permit”.
Sahra spokeperson Thanduxolo Lungile said the Hankey declaration was aimed at reaffirming the dignity of Saartjie Baartman and reviving the town’s economy.
Baartman was a Khoisan woman enslaved and paraded in Europe as a freak before her death in 1816. her remains were returned to South Africa in 2002 and reburied on a hill near the Gamtoos River at Hankey. – Sapa