A significant portion of William Nicol Drive was temporarily closed on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, between 10:00 and 13:00, spanning from Sandton Drive to Diepsloot.
Why was William Nicol Drive changed to Winnie Mandela Drive?
The reason for this temporary closure was the official renaming of the well-known route from William Nicol Drive to Winnie Mandela Drive by the City of Johannesburg.
Not only was the renaming ceremony marred by mixed reactions but tragically, it also coincided tragically with the passing of Zoleka Mandela, granddaughter of struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, following a prolonged battle with cancer.
The decision to change the name of William Nicol Drive was announced by the city council at the end of August 2023, per Business Tech.
This change followed the formal initiation of the renaming process by the African National Congress (ANC) in March 2021, which included a public comment phase on the proposed name change, running until April 2021.
Who was Rev. Dr. William Nicol?
It’s worth noting that the key Johannesburg route was originally named after Rev. Dr. William Nicol, who was a Dutch Reformed minister, theologian, educator, and Administrator of the Transvaal Province, which, after 1994, was abolished and the south-central portion (including the PWV) became Gauteng, the northern portion became Limpopo and the southeastern portion became Mpumalanga.
Nicol made significant contributions to education and language in the region.
He founded the parish magazine Irenenuus in January 1923, with the aim of guiding individuals in their faith.
Nicol notably promoted education in one’s mother tongue, opposing the National Party’s Bantu Education policy and advocating for a model that incorporated mother tongue education with English as a second language to facilitate effective communication among people.
Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda officiated the renaming ceremony