Cape Town Data · South Africa

People & Society

The people shaping South Africa, written about from Cape Town: political leaders and public life, the economy, sport, entertainment, communities and history.

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Faces behind the stories

Music

Miriam Makeba

Singer and civil-rights campaigner, 1932 to 2008; the voice of 'Pata Pata'

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Photo: Rob Mieremet / Anefo, Nationaal Archief · Public domain
Politics & Public Life

Cyril Ramaphosa

President of South Africa since 2018; former trade unionist and businessman

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Photo: ITU Pictures · CC BY 2.0
Politics & Public Life

Nelson Mandela

Anti-apartheid leader and first democratically elected president, 1918 to 2013

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Photo: South Africa The Good News · CC BY 2.0
Sport & Athletes

Oscar Pistorius

Paralympic sprinter; convicted of the 2013 murder of Reeva Steenkamp, released on parole in January 2024

Reporting on court proceedings; see the article for dates and findings.

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Photo: Kaston (Wikimedia Commons user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Politics & Public Life

Desmond Tutu

Archbishop of Cape Town and Nobel Peace laureate, 1931 to 2021

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Photo: Benny Gool · Public domain
Politics & Public Life

Julius Malema

Leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters since 2013; former ANC Youth League president

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Photo: Gary van der Merwe · CC BY-SA 3.0
Politics & Public Life

Geordin Hill-Lewis

Executive Mayor of Cape Town since 2021 (Democratic Alliance)

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Photo: Democratic Alliance staff photographer · CC BY-SA 3.0 ZA
Literature

Nadine Gordimer

Novelist and anti-apartheid writer; Nobel Prize in Literature 1991, 1923 to 2014

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Photo: Bengt Oberger · CC BY 3.0
Music

Johnny Clegg

Musician and anthropologist who fused Zulu and Western music with Juluka and Savuka, 1953 to 2019

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Photo: Gorup de Besanez · CC BY-SA 3.0
Politics & Public Life

Alan Winde

Premier of the Western Cape since 2019 (Democratic Alliance)

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Photo: Democratic Alliance staff photographer · CC BY-SA 3.0 ZA
Music

Tyla

Johannesburg-born pop star; 'Water' won the first Grammy for Best African Music Performance in 2024

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Photo: Capital FM Kenya · CC BY 3.0
Politics & Public Life

Philip Kgosana

Pan Africanist Congress activist who led the 1960 march on Cape Town, 1936 to 2017

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Image credits

Alan Winde: File:Alan Winde (cropped).jpg · Democratic Alliance staff photographer · CC BY-SA 3.0 ZA · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons
Cyril Ramaphosa: File:Cyril Ramaphosa - President of South Africa - 2018 (cropped).jpg · ITU Pictures · CC BY 2.0 · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons
Desmond Tutu: File:Archbishop-Tutu-medium.jpg · Benny Gool · Public domain · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons
Geordin Hill-Lewis: File:Geordin Hill-Lewis.jpg · Democratic Alliance staff photographer · CC BY-SA 3.0 ZA · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons
Johnny Clegg: File:Johnny Clegg (cropped).jpg · Gorup de Besanez · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons
Julius Malema: File:Julius Malema 2011-09-14 (cropped).jpg · Gary van der Merwe · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons
Miriam Makeba: File:Miriam Makeba (1969).jpg · Rob Mieremet / Anefo, Nationaal Archief · Public domain · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons
Nadine Gordimer: File:Nadine Gordimer 01 (cropped).JPG · Bengt Oberger · CC BY 3.0 · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons
Nelson Mandela: File:Nelson Mandela-2008 (edit).jpg · South Africa The Good News (South Africa The Good News / www.sagoodnews.co.za) · CC BY 2.0 · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons
Oscar Pistorius: File:Oscar Pistorius in Warsaw (cropped).jpg · Kaston (Wikimedia Commons user) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons
Tyla: File:Tyla Seethal 2022 a.png · Capital FM Kenya · CC BY 3.0 · Cropped to 3:4 and resized for display · via Wikimedia Commons