During Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s funeral at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday, Economic Freedom Front (EFF) leader Julius Malema called for Cape Town International Airport to be renamed Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Airport.
Half an hour later, his request was approved by Wikipedia, who changed the details on the Cape Town International Airport page.
Wikipedia read, “Winnie Madikizela-Mandela International Airport formerly known as Cape Town International Airport.”
During his speech Malema called on the ANC to honour Winnie by renaming the airport after her.
The Wikipedia change was reversed shortly after people began calling them out on the error. The idea of changing the airport’s name, however, has gathered more steam and social media is abuzz with people asking for the name to be changed in memory of Winnie.
So much so, that a petition is being circulated asking for President Cyril Ramaphosa to enforce the change.
Website Change.org created the petition stating: “Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, The Mother of the Nation, must be properly honored for her leadership in the freedom struggle to end Apartheid.
“Cape Town International Airport must be renamed Winnie Madikizela-Mandela International Airport to honor her for all her sacrifices, hardships and torture she endured for all South Africans to end Apartheid, a crime against humanity.”
The Cape Town International Airport name change is apropos in that the “mother city” will indeed BE the mother city airport aptly named after uMam’ Winnie Madikizela Mandela. ✊?
— sungodess ? (@sungodess) April 15, 2018
SAYV wants the Cape Town international airport to be named after the mother of the nation. pic.twitter.com/uQUzVjipmF
— SAYV_direct (@SAYV_direct) April 15, 2018
I foresee the DA preparing a cost analysis to discourage renaming Cape Town International Airport to #WinnieMandelaInternationalAirport pic.twitter.com/dtu7iCwYg7
— Yonela Gxasheka (@YonelaGxasheka) April 14, 2018
Picture: Twitter
