Executive Mayor Benson Fihla, affectionately known as Oom Ben, remembers how difficult it was to find words for Vuyisile Mini after he was condemned to death in 1964, especially since their holding cells were opposite each other.
The approval of a Council design on Friday (3 October) to redevelop Vuyisile Mini Square and erect a statue of the brave unionist is now Oom Ben’s chance to finally say farewell to his comrade.
Mini was condemned to hang and Oom Ben, after narrowly missing the hangman’s noose due to a lack of evidence, was sentenced to imprisonment on Robben Island.
Shortly after Oom Ben first stepped into his office that towers over the square named after Vuyisile Mini, he bemoaned the fact that nothing about the square resembles Mini or what he stood for.
“I remember being placed in a single cell opposite Vuyisile Mini in the North End Prison (it was known as Rooi Hel back then) and it was torture because I did not know what to say to them.
“We could still go to jail and still be released, but for them it was death. This was pure torture for me. When we were moved to Robben Island, it was very difficult to say good bye. We knew that we will never see them again.
“I was told that when they were taken to Pretoria they kept on singing. We were later told that when the singing stopped, there was a dead silence as they were no more,” Mayor Fihla said.
The Mandela Bay Development Agency, established by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in 2003, is responsible for the implementation of this important council decision.
Their scope of work includes the:
- redesign of Vuyisile Mini Square to ensure that it is clear for the use of the general public with limited parking areas,
- Further parking is to be considered behind the Feathermarket Centre where parking had been allocated for Councillors and the general public, but not used at the moment,
- A temporary statue of Vuyisile Mini; and,
- A permanent piece of public art commemorating Vuyisile Mini procured from an experienced sculptor of good standing.
Editor: In the days when Councillors served without being paid we had a Port Elizabeth Mayor named Solly Rubin and in front of the City Hall was the mayoral gardens. At the suggestion that this area be turned into parking Rubin refused saying that it would only happen over his dead body.
Click HERE to see more old Port Elizabeth Images from around 1950.
https://twitter.com/Vumzza/status/519009698595737600
Do you eat with that mouth? @Vumzza
— Gqeberha (@MyPE) October 6, 2014
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Interestingly, he seems to have deleted that tweet. Some people just proof daily that they shouldn’t be allowed on social media.
As for Vuyisile Mini or Market Square. I’m looking forward to see the new design and the statue. The place can only get better than what it is now, a big parking lot. I wish they would just go and install the “Conversations with the queen” artwork in front of the Library as well.
The garden did serve a purpose. I agree with you about the car park. In some way, with all the vehicles parked there, it makes me think that people view our City Hall and our City as a dorp and not as a major metropole. We need a statement of grandeur, a place for people to enjoy and photograph. Truth be told, some of those councillors could do with a good walk.