NAME CHANGES: Five Joburg inner-city streets may be renamed while Sandton Drive debate unresolved

Johannesburg’s inner-city street map could undergo another round of changes, with Wolmarans Street proposed for renaming after spiritual leader Dr uZwi-Lezwe Radebe and four other streets earmarked for new names around the planned Archbishop Desmond Tutu Precinct.

The proposals would also see Plein Street become Desmond Tutu Street, Wanderers Street become Simeon Nkoane Street, De Villiers Street become Trevor Huddleston Street and Hoek Street become Cathedral Street.

A motion before the Johannesburg City Council in August proposed that Wolmarans Street be renamed Dr uZwi-Lezwe Radebe Street.

The motion says the change will recognise Radebe’s contributions to Johannesburg, Gauteng and South Africa and describes his work in education, health, entrepreneurship, poverty alleviation and cultural development.

The motion, which passed, was proposed by UDM councillor Yongama Zigebe and seconded by ATM councillor Lubabalo Magwentshu.

No estimated cost is provided. However, the motion proposes that the change be undertaken in accordance with the City’s policy on naming streets and public places, including public participation, and that it be budgeted for and implemented in the 2027/28 financial year.

It also proposes that an official dedication ceremony be considered, subject to the availability of funds.

The City did not respond to Daily Maverick’s questions about the projected cost of the proposed Wolmarans Street renaming, the four other proposed inner-city changes, or how much it has spent on street renamings over the past decade.

The history behind Wolmarans Street

Wolmarans is among the names dating from Johannesburg’s early development as a mining town.

Historical accounts link the street name to JMA Wolmarans, a member of the executive of the former Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR), who officially opened Johannesburg’s first permanent hospital in November 1890.

The road later became closely associated with Johannesburg’s early Jewish community.

The Great Synagogue, commonly known as the Wolmarans Street Shul, was built in 1913 and consecrated the following year.

The large domed synagogue occupied a block bounded by Wolmarans, Claim, Quartz and Smit streets and became an important centre of Jewish religious life in Johannesburg.

It eventually closed as much of the Jewish community moved from the inner city to Johannesburg’s northern suburbs.

The building remains, although its use has changed.

The history of the existing name forms part of the context against which the latest renaming proposal will be considered.

Who is Dr uZwi-Lezwe Radebe?

Radebe, also known as Imboni, founded and leads The Revelation Spiritual Home, which describes itself as an African indigenous spiritual institution.

The motivation submitted to council says his community work includes education and libraries, employment and entrepreneurship initiatives, health and wellness programmes, food security, youth development, sport and the promotion of African culture and indigenous knowledge.

His Dr SB Radebe Foundation was founded in 2013 and, according to the profile accompanying the motion, has provided bursaries, established libraries and computer laboratories, supported sporting programmes and distributed school shoes and food to disadvantaged communities.

Radebe is also a businessman. The profile says he founded and chairs Trillion Cart Investments, which has interests in mining, publishing, television, music production, pharmaceuticals and other sectors.

Radebe and The Revelation Spiritual Home have formally accepted the proposed honour.

A letter included with the council documents, dated 4 June 2025, says Radebe and the organisation’s Upper House were “honoured” by the proposal and accepted it.

Four more inner-city renamings proposed

The Wolmarans proposal comes as another four street-name changes are being considered around St Mary’s Cathedral as part of the planned Archbishop Desmond Tutu Precinct.

Under those proposals:

• Plein Street would become Desmond Tutu Street

• Wanderers Street would become Simeon Nkoane Street

• De Villiers Street would become Trevor Huddleston Street

• Hoek Street would become Cathedral Street

The City opened the proposals for public comment earlier this year.

The precinct is intended to recognise the area’s role in Johannesburg’s religious and anti-apartheid history while forming part of efforts to regenerate the inner city.

Desmond Tutu was Bishop of Johannesburg before becoming Archbishop of Cape Town and one of South Africa’s most internationally recognised anti-apartheid figures. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

Trevor Huddleston, an Anglican priest, became a prominent opponent of apartheid while working in Sophiatown and was closely associated with some of the leading figures of the liberation struggle.

Simeon Nkoane was an Anglican priest and anti-apartheid activist whose work was associated with St Mary’s Cathedral and opposition to racial segregation in the church.

The proposed Cathedral Street would recognise St Mary’s Cathedral itself, which has played a significant role in Johannesburg’s religious and political history.

With Wolmarans Street, the proposals could result in five street-name changes within the inner city.

Joburg’s street map has changed before

The latest proposals follow earlier changes that have already reshaped the inner-city map.

Bree Street became Lilian Ngoyi Street, Jeppe Street became Rahima Moosa Street, President Street became Helen Joseph Street and Noord Street became Sophie de Bruyn Street.

The four women commemorated in those names were leaders of the historic 1956 Women’s March to the Union Buildings against apartheid pass laws.

Other Johannesburg roads have also been renamed, among them William Nicol Drive, which became Winnie Mandela Drive in 2023.

That renaming provides one indication of the costs involved.

The City said at the time that about R250,000 was spent on the process, including advertising, public participation and new street signs.

It does not follow that the five proposed inner-city changes would cost the same amount. The number of intersections and signs, the length of each road and the requirements of the public participation process differ.

The Wolmarans motion itself does not put a figure on the proposed change, despite specifying that it should be funded from the City’s 2027/28 budget.

The City was asked to provide the projected costs of the Wolmarans and Tutu Precinct changes, a list of streets renamed during the past decade and the cost of each.

It had not responded by the time of publication.

Sandton Drive proposal remains unresolved

One of Johannesburg’s most contentious proposed street-name changes lies outside the inner city.

The City has proposed renaming Sandton Drive after Palestinian activist Leila Khaled, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who participated in aircraft hijackings in 1969 and 1970.

The proposal became diplomatically sensitive because the US Consulate General is situated on Sandton Drive.

In 2025, the Presidency confirmed that the national government was discussing the proposed change with Johannesburg’s leadership amid concern over its potential impact on relations with the United States.

The City did not respond to a question about the current status of the Sandton Drive proposal. DM