COMMENT OF THE WEEK: Who is Themba Khoza?
This week’s Comment of the Week comes from Facebook user Jim Phumudzo Maanda, who asked:
💬 “Eintlek Ke Mang Themba Khoza?” (Translated: “Who is Themba Khoza?”)
Jim was responding to our traffic alert report that residents of Themba Khoza informal settlement had barricaded Republic Road during yet another protest over the electrification of their community.
A Community Waiting for Power
The informal settlement of Themba Khoza, located in Ivory Park under Ward 111, has been in existence since the early 1990s. For years, the community has been demanding electrification and basic services.
The land on which the settlement stands is reportedly owned by Valumax Group, a private property development and investment company. Valumax is behind several major developments including Riverside View, Clayville, and Alex Mall. It remains unclear how Valumax acquired the land, but its ownership complicates the City’s efforts to develop and electrify the area.
On 19 September 2025, the Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, addressed KAE residents. He promised to engage directly with Valumax and report back to the community of Themba Khoza on the way forward. He said that the owners of Valumax were overseas.
Who Was the Real Themba Khoza?
Despite the settlement bearing his name, Themba Khoza himself had no involvement in the establishment of the community. The area was named in his memory.
Khoza was a prominent South African politician and student leader. He rose to prominence as a leader in the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) during the 1980s and 1990s. Born in Eshowe in 1959, he joined the Inkatha Youth Brigade in 1975 and became its leader in the 1980s
During the turbulent years of apartheid, Khoza became known as a fierce anti-apartheid activist, but also controversial for his role in the political violence that gripped Gauteng townships in the early 1990s between the IFP and ANC. He was deeply involved in the establishment of the Inkatha-aligned structures in the Transvaal, mobilising hostel dwellers and migrant workers around IFP.
Khoza later served as a Member of Parliament under the democratic dispensation. He died on the 28th of May 2000 at the age of 41, but his name continues to live on in different spaces — including this Ivory Park informal settlement.
Why It Matters
Jim’s simple question — “Who is Themba Khoza?” — reminds us of the importance of history and context. As residents of Themba Khoza informal settlement continue their fight for basic services like electricity, the name they carry connects the present struggle to South Africa’s complex political past.
