Amid some intense wrangling over venue management and route changes, the Kaapse Klopse are set to prove why the annual parade remains one of the major drawcards on Cape Town’s festive calendar, delighting locals with tambourines, banjos, saxophones, vibrant colours and equally dazzling dance moves. As tens of thousands of performers prepare to take to Cape Town’s streets on 5 January for “Tweede Nuwe Jaar” – the annual Kaapse Klopse street parade – celebrations were almost overshadowed by an urgent court battle over a venue and parade routes. The carnival, rooted in the history of slavery, forced removals and community resilience, will go ahead despite renewed tension between organisers and the City of Cape Town over how one of the city’s most significant cultural events is managed.
Euphoria in te run-up to Monday’s event was almost derailed by an urgent court bid by the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) over the use of Vygieskraal Stadium, compounded by a late change to the traditional parade route into Bo-Kaap. According to CTMCA spokesperson Sedick Soeker, the City initially turned down their application to use the venue despite compliance with the usual requirements and without providing reasons. A midnight ruling on 30 December by Western Cape High Court Judge James Lekhuleni ordered the City to make a venue available for CTMCA competitions on 1, 10, 17 and 24 January.
The City appealed on New Year’s Eve but failed, and on New Year’s Day indicated it would take the matter to a full bench. On Sunday, 4 January, City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said: “The City have filed the appeal and await a date from the court for the hearing.” The City has distanced itself from the revised parade route. The Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association (KKKA) applied for the march to follow the Fan Walk down Somerset Road and into Cape Town Stadium.
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Muneeb Gambeno, a KKKA director, said the route change “brings the event closer to home”. An estimated 20,000 performers will march from Chiappini Street along Somerset Road into the stadium from 11am to 5pm, followed by KKKA competitions until 10pm. Major road closures are expected along Somerset Road, Green Point Main Road, Prestwich Street, Chiappini Street, Ebenezer Road and Waterkant Street from 6am to 9pm.
Isgak Omar’s troupe, the Juvie Boys Entertainers from Lentegeur, is one of 16 affiliated with the KKKA, which comprises about 20,000 members who will take part in the parade. Dressed in flamboyant costumes of glittering satin and bold colours, they mesmerise close to 100,000 spectators each year. Speaking to Daily Maverick on 22 December, Omar said: “What the [Klopse] do is what the late Taliep Petersen always spoke about – we make people happy and bring out the smiles that light up their faces.
The idea is to showcase the culture through dancing, glittering satin outfits and the playing of banjos and tambourines. That’s why I dance and wiggle my tongue at the same time. “It is amazing to see how thousands of people descend on Cape Town to witness the parade.
Through the hysteria and deafening celebration, you wouldn’t believe how many people shout at you as you dance in the streets.” Every year, people arrive in the early hours with picnic bags and chairs to secure a view as the troupes make their way along the route to the music of tambourines, banjos and saxophones. Even those with two left feet join in, creating a single, joyful celebration of music, dance and heritage. Delving into the history of the Kaapse Klopse, Gambeno explained that the tradition evolved from mid-19th-century Cape Malay slave celebrations into one of South Africa’s most vibrant cultural expressions. Today it blends music, dance and elaborate costumes in the annual parade, previously known in the Cape Malay community as “Tweede Nuwe Jaar”.
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