The Gauteng Provincial Government is officially launching the upgraded and improved Beyers Naude Drive (D374) in honour of the struggle stalwart that made a gallant contribution to the struggle for a democratic dispensation, Dr Beyers Naude. Gauteng Premier Ms Nomvula Mokonyane and MEC for Roads and Transport Ismail Vadi will officially open the revamped road. The ceremony will take place on 7 March 2011 at the African Leadership Academy in Honeydew, Johannesburg.
Born Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naude in 1915, Oom Bey as he was affectionately known was a minister in the South African Dutch Reformed Church and later joined the Broederbond as its youngest member. For 20 years he served various congregations, starting at Wellington in Western Cape province, preaching a religious justification for apartheid. He began to doubt this justification after attending interracial church services. In 1940 he married Ilse Weder and had three sons and a daughter.
The Sharpeville massacre in 1960 where the South African Police killed 69 black demonstrators protesting against restrictions ended his support for his church's political teachings. In the three decades after his resignation from the denomination, Naudé's vocal support for racial reconciliation and equal rights led to upheavals in the Dutch Reformed Church.
From 1977 to 1984 the South African government "banned" Naudé — a form of house arrest with severe restrictions on his movements and interactions. This included not being able to be in the same room with more than one other person. After his unbanning in 1985, he succeeded Archbishop Desmond Tutu as Secretary General of the South African Council of Churches and he continued his call for the release of political prisoners and for negotiations with the African National Congress.
After his death at 89 in 2004, Nelson Mandela eulogised Naudé as "a true humanitarian and a true son of Africa." His ashes were scattered in the township of Alexandra , just outside Johannesburg .
The Beyers Naude Drive has been upgraded into a 2.4 kilometre dual carriageway from Honeydew to Zandspruit. This also involved the construction of a 1.8 kilometre deviation to be handed over to the City of Johannesburg as well as a 3.8 kilometre pedestrian bridge for use by the community of Zandspruit.
