Wednesday, 5 August 2026

Mitchells Plain was described as an apartheid-built settlement planned after District Six removals, with 186 pieces of land assembled from 1973 for a housing project meant to contain people, not build community.

Ibrahim “Butahimi” Abdullah, one of the first residents in West Ridge, moved in during 1976 to sand and empty land, choosing one of six available houses rather than being allocated a single unit.

Historian Nathan Adams traced the area back well before 1973, saying the land records point to early-1900s references to “now called Mitchellsplain” and that the Forde family was the only ownership he could verify.

Sean Achim argued Mitchells Plain is far more than a poor suburb: he put its gross geographic product at about R56 billion a year, said it has roughly 4,500 formal firms, and called it an economic hub with room to grow.

The community stories also centred on legacy and sport: listeners and guests recalled Parkhurst United, the Mitchells Plain Football Association, the UDF’s 1983 birth at Rocklands Civic Centre, and calls for more local facilities like a hockey pitch and swimming pool.