Wynberg Main Road – A Safe Haven for Immigrant Families

The four blocks along Wynberg Main Road between Piers and Rockley Roads is a hive of activity with barber shops, an array of African cuisine and families from across the diaspora who call this old part of the southern suburbs home.

In this relatively small area, there are barbers from Burundi, businessmen from Nigeria, restaurateurs from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, herbalists from Sudan and many more. They all support each other’s businesses and socialise at local African eateries.

Mary Katunga from Malawi sells fresh produce. She travels back to her hometown in Thyolo for more stock every two months when business is good, she says.

For many immigrant families, this stretch of Wynberg’s main road has become a safe haven. Most people GroundUp spoke to say they work or live in the area because it’s relatively affordable and has a supportive community.

The “Benny Grace” restaurant owned by a DRC businessman opened on the Main Road in 2014. He previously sold food out of an apartment but was able to get a bigger space due to the popularity of his meals.

Some of the traders say they’ve been selling food on the Main Road for many years. Claudette Malewa has been operating her African Food store since 2004, importing produce for the markets’ demand.

Desmond Okamadu and Enma Esio from Nigeria own a food importing business. Esio has been living in Wynberg for four years and has a job as a chef in the city centre.

Parishioners from the Missionary Centre Apocalypse of John of the Island of Patmos – originally from the DRC – come from Botswana and a few from South Africa. The venue belongs to the Foundation of Victory church that rents out the space in the evening on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Claudette Malewa sells fresh produce and food imported from other African countries. She has had her stall on Wynberg Main Road since 2004.

Wynberg is relatively central for work, it’s next to a taxi rank and train station, and has many schools within walking distance. Rentals in this part of the suburb are more affordable than in areas closer to Cape Town’s city centre. A single room apartment costs around R7,000 per month on average, but people we spoke to say they are prepared to pay this for safety and peace of mind, rather than living in some township areas where xenophobia remains a problem.

There is a buzz on the street and lots of activity around the businesses and apartment blocks. The hub attracts newcomers like Cresly Ngalula, from the DRC, who opened her beauty salon two years ago and rents out a spot to another stylist. Ngalula moved to Johannesburg in 2010 from Kinshasa with her parents and moved to Cape Town in 2018 because she had some family here.

Mary Katunga from Malawi previously lived in Masiphumelele in Hout Bay but moved to a single bed apartment on Wynberg Main Road with her older sister three years ago. They share rent and say the area is also closer to a hub of businesses. She sells fresh produce. She travels back to her hometown in Thyolo to get more stock every two months when business is good, she says.

At 23, Freddy “Rasta” Ndayunkunga moved from Burundi in 2012 and started working as a barber. “I was looking for life,” he says. This year he opened his own barber shop, called Bantu Bwoys, in a small container off the Main Road.

To save on rent he shares the premises with a laundry called Loco, owned by a Nigerian businessman. Ndayunkunga told us the new premises are perfect because Wynberg Main Road is busy and safe and he gets good clients.

William Atanbutu left Goma in the DRC in 2013 after his parents were killed in the war. He first travelled to Pretoria and sought asylum papers before friends told him to come to Cape Town. He plays the guitar and sings in a band. He says he feels safe among the community in Wynberg Main Road.

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