Salegga Mustapha was born to Fatima Jassiem Mustapha and Mog Rashaad Mustapha at 12 York Street, Claremont on 30 March 1948. Salegga was named after her paternal grandmother, Salegga Ryklief Mustapha (Mota Lega). Salegga’s grandparents lived in the same street at 33 York Street, her grandfather, Imam Amien Mustapha was the Imam at Harvey Road Mosque. Salegga is one of nine children: Mog Yusuf (Boetie), Gadija, Gabiba, Aysa, Salegga, Amien, Gamja, Faried(Goegie) Somaya.

The kids in York street played games such as drie blikkies. Fatima would stand on the stoep and look out for the kids. There were times when Fatima would throw the ball or keep the skipping rope. The boys would give the girls a hard time so the girls had to be tough to play with them, otherwise they wouldn’t let the girls join the game. There was a church with a high wall which the kids jumped over, Salegga has scars on her knees and legs from being rough and tough while playing.  In those days, all the fathers wore suits and hats. There was a guy called Te Linkie with a damaged leg, he sold fruit from his wagon, if Rashaad had excess money, he would tell all the children who lived in the road to get their bowls and he would buy all the fruit from the wagon. The families in Claremont had an open door culture, if Salegga didn’t feel like eating her mom’s food she could go to a friend’s house and swop her supper for cream crackers and cheese which she I loved. 

Salegga attended Clareinch Primary, she was in the first batch of students registered at this new school. Salegga attended Livingstone High after Clareinch Primary. Livingstone High held some of their classes in the old Judge’s house which was located where the Post Office and Police station is currently situated.  The house had big sash windows, so the children would use the windows and not the doors to enter and exit the building. There was lots of fruit trees and the students would laze under the trees and eat the fruits during breaks. The house was situated on a hill; the ground wasn’t level as it is today. Salegga’s maths teacher at Livingstone was their neighbour, Mr Dudley. He had her sitting up front in the class and he monitored her performance, at the end of the year she had the 2nd highest mark. In Salegga’s class, there were older boys who repeated the grade and they scared her. She did not want to return to school for Std 7, Mr Dudley tried to convince her to stay but she wouldn’t change her mind.

On Friday evenings, Salegga and her friends would go to top Claremont to visit Jainap (Whitey) Haroun’s grandfather, Boeta Sulaiman Koffee. The attraction was the friends who lived up there. In turn the top Claremont guys would come visit in lower Claremont. One of them, Ali slakkie was a singer for Violets, they would go sit in Keurboom park and he would sing for them. Some days when Salegga came home from work, Ebrahim Hiempie Abduraghman would wait for her at the station on his bicycle and together they would walk down to lower Claremont, where he would be going to madrassa at his uncle’s house in Second Avenue.

At 14yrs old, Salegga started her first job. Salegga and her cousin, Faiza Gabriels Galant found a job at the Egg Circle in Ralph street. The job was packing eggs, the eggs ran on a belt with a light underneath, there job was to inspect the eggs and if it was okay, it could be boxed. Salegga worked there until her sister’s friend got her a job at Marissa handbag factory. The owner, Mr Vitali was Italian and his girlfriend was a white woman from Bellville. She requested Salegga work in the office with her so she didn’t have to interact with the workers in the factory.  She taught Salegga how to invoice and place orders. Salegga recalls working overtime while stock taking, Mr Vitali offered to buy lunch, when she said she is fasting he replied “Your God won’t know, you can eat the lunch”. Salegga worked for years in the handbag factory, dispatching orders. 

Some of the residents of York Street who Salegga recalls:

• No.4:  Naziyah’s uncle, the dentist.

• No.6: Naziyah Isaacs Ismail lived with her dad and sisters. Naziyah’s mother died at 37. The neighbours helped to look after the girls after she died.  There were eight girls, the younger girls lived with their grandmother in Coburn Street, Greenpoint and the older girls with the father. There were times when Salegga’s mother cooked for the girls. Naziyah and her sister Fowzia were frequent visitors in Salegga’s home. Naziyah became one of Salegga’s closest friends.

• No.8: Jainap Haroun Minkie with her mother and extended family. Jainap’s nickname was Whitey. Jainap became one of Salegga’s closest friends.

• No.10: Neville Petersen whose dad, Uncle Jaapie was in charge of the army brigade for the Salvation Army.

• No. 14: Mr Rakatu, an African man and his white, Afrikaaner wife. He repaired watches using an eye tool while sitting at the window which the children in the road found fascinating. Their children never played outside with the other children. They would stay in the house and would only be seen when going shopping. 

• No.16: Ms Campbell lived alone with her little dog with its purple dyed hair. The children who lived in the street were invited to the dog’s birthday party and they would sing happy birthday. 

• No.18: The Kemps, a husband, Boeta Amien with two wives, Sis Aana and Aunty Rola. There didn’t seemed to be discontent between the two wives or the children. The Kemp moved out but they remained friends with Salegga until today. Salegga’s oldest brother, Yusuf Mustapha (Boetie) moved in with his wife, Moerieda (Molly) Wolhurther Mustapha. 

• No.20: Mr Dudley was the deputy principal of Livingstone High, he was very involved in the political struggle.

• No: 7: Ta Erie, he had 6 toes on each foot and he had a sister, Rachel.

• No: 11: Salega’s older sister, Gabiba (Bibi) Mustapha Cassiem with her family. Fatima Sadan Behardien and her mother, Aunty Laami were forcibly removed from Newlands, they came to live Salega’s sister when Fatima was 14yrs old. Fatima become one of Salegga’s closest friends                      

• No.13: Isabel and Wally Smit

• No 15: Mr Reid, he was a teacher at Livingstone High.

• No 17: A Chinese man, Mr Pompo, he was married to Mr Dudley’s(no.20) sister in law.

• No19: Yusuf DaCosta, a teacher who became a professor at UWC.

• No 21: Aunty Mampie

• No 23/25: Hassiem Adams with his two wives. He was a builder. 

• No 27: Sis Joegie

• No 29: Auntie Moosie(Mariam) and Boeta Monkeynut Esau, they owned the shop. Their son, Mogammat became a lawyer and their son, Omar was a teacher and now is a professor at Stellenbosch, all their daughters all live overseas.  Aunty Moosie was the sister of Imam Abdullah Haron.

• No33: Salega’s grandfather, Imam Amien (Bonds) Mustapha

• Cnr of York and 2nd Ave: The Wolhurters, Salega’s oldest brother, Yusuf (Boetie) married the youngest Wolhurther daughter

• Cnr of Princess and York Road: Boeta Shortie Yusuf Mohammad. Salega’s brother, Amien married their daughter, Gasiena.  

• Others: Shairah’s who owned barbers in Lansdowne, Sis Hajira, Sis Mariam Bruid and the Lalas. 

Mr Lala never moved from York street, Salegga and her aunt, Asma Hendricks  visited him before he died. Mr Dudley tried to have meetings but the police would arrive and take people to the police station.  They couldn’t hold meetings; they couldn’t discuss or plan what they could do or how can they could stop forced removals. There was no coming together of people, it wasn’t allowed.  Why they didn’t do anything? Why did they allow themselves to be evicted? Why didn’t they toi-toi? But the times were different, there was the danger of being locked up, the police were very harsh, they hit people. The poor fruit sellers, they would throw out their stock from their carts. The law under apartheid was strict. There were people who tried to resist, like Boesak and Kriel but the law too strong, they didn’t give you a chance to do a thing, many were locked up. Today people can march or voice their opinion, it is easy for them to win what they want. Salegga remembers that Imam Haron, encouraged and facilitated for young people to study overseas when  to study locally was blocked under apartheid rule. Salegga’s remembers her friend, Fatima Sadan Behardien’s cousin, Suroor Solomon as one of those boys. Salegga went with Fatima when her cousin left to study overseas. 

Salegga moved into Groenvlei, Wetton with her parents and her younger brother, Faried (Goegie) (16yrs old) and youngest sister, Somaya (14yrs old). It was 5 November 1972 and she was 24yrs old. She clearly remembers it was Guy Fawkes, her dad always bought fireworks on this day. She remembers moving into the new house which was so open with no fences between houses. 

Salegga’s three closest friends had also lived in York Street. Fatima Sadan Behardien no.11, Naziyah Isaacs Ismail No .6, and Zainab Haroun Minkie No.8. se four friends remained close and kept in contact through the years. Naziyah and Jainap died within a week of each other in January 2021.