A key figure in the return of more than 1 000 claimants to Cape Town’s inner city, Shahied Ajam was working on a multi-billion rand land restitution project
The man spearheading the return of thousands of people to District Six, an area in Cape Town that they once called home, will not get to see the fruits of his labour. Shahied Ajam, 62, the chairperson of the District Six Working Committee died of a heart attack this past weekend.
Ajam has been described as charismatic and tenacious. His mission was to keep the dream of returning to District Six alive. In a statement, the District Six Working Committee said their work will go on. The group will meet this week to elect a new chairperson to take charge of the planned return of residents.
Tributes have poured in for Ajam, whose burial by Muslim rites was modest and with a limited number of people present because of the lockdown regulations. Plato acknowledged Ajam’s role in the District Six restitution project, describing him as a fierce negotiator, but a conciliator and democrat at heart.
Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza was a respondent in the working committee’s lawsuit for the government to put promises into action.
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