Nyanga, Western Cape

Nyanga is a township in the Western Cape, South Africa. Its name in Xhosa means "moon" and it is one of the oldest black townships in Cape Town. It was established as a result of the migrant labour system. In 1948 black migrants were forced to settle in Nyanga as Langa had become too small. Nyanga was one of the poorest places in Cape Town and is still one of the most dangerous parts of Cape Town. In 2001 its unemployment rate was estimated at being approximately 56% and HIV/AIDS is a huge community issue.

Nyanga is situated 20 km from Cape Town along the N2 highway, close to the Cape Town International Airport and next to the townships of Gugulethu and Crossroads.

History
The neighbourhood was established in 1946 and, in the same year, was proclaimed a township for migrant labour predominantly from the Eastern Cape. It was initially established as a spillover once the neighbourhood of Langa was fully occupied.

Residents of Nyanga were active in joining a national call to protest against the apartheid laws passed in 1960. Later they were active in the 1976 student uprisings, which had begun on the other side of the country on 16 June 1976 in Soweto against the use of Afrikaans as the primary medium of instruction in schools. Nyanga became notorious for its black-on-black faction fighting that was allegedly perpetrated by police in the early eighties. The local authorities (izibonda) grouped themselves according to their background and used that as their criteria when allocating land.

These cultural differences were allegedly used by the police to stir up violence, and elements of the community were infiltrated by the apartheid regime. This led to emergence of the notoriously violent group called "the witdoeke" (the white scarfs). As a result of these fights Tambo square was formed.

Nyanga comprises nine township subdivisions: Lusaka, KTC, Old Location, Maumau, Zwelitsha, Maholweni "Hostels", White City, Barcelona, Kanana, and Europe.

Crime


The high rate of violent crime in Nyanga had earned the area the moniker "murder capital of South Africa" with 289 recorded homicides in 2018/19, until it was overtaken by another precinct area in 2022. In the five year period before 2018 a total of 1,473 homicides were recorded in the precinct area. The South African Police Service (SAPS) Nyanga precinct area includes half of the Nyanga neighborhood as well as the adjoining communities of New Crossroads and Brown's Farm. Prior to December 2018 the precinct area also included Samora Machel.

By 2021/22 the number of recorded homicides had declined to 203. In November 2023 Google Maps announced that it would no longer recommend routes through the area following a number of violent incidents targeting motorists that included the death of motorists during the 2023 taxi strike.

Government institutions and public services
Several government institutions maintain a presence in Nyanga in order to provide various vital services to the community:
 * Nyanga Home Affairs Office
 * The South African Department of Labour has a satellite office in Nyanga.
 * The Nyanga Community Health Clinic
 * Masincedane Clinic
 * Nyanga Police Station
 * Nyanga Public Library loans books to the community and provides several useful informational services.

Churches
Some of the churches that are located in Nyanga are:
 * Apostolic Church
 * Assembly of God Nyanga
 * FH Gow AME Church
 * Fresh Fire Church
 * Holy Cross Anglican Church
 * New Crossroads Baptist Church
 * Reformed Gospel Church
 * St Mary's Catholic Church
 * Trinity society Church