News24 | Cultural icons David Kramer and Taliep Petersen to get the Freedom of Cape Town

Cultural icons David Kramer (right) and the late Taliep Petersen (left) will be awarded the Freedom of Cape Town, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced.

• The City of Cape Town will confer the Freedom of Cape Town, its highest civic honour, on cultural icons David Kramer and Taliep Petersen.
• Mayor Geordin Hill Lewis said the award was conferred on the city’s most-loved, most famous, and influential cultural ambassadors.
• Kramer and Petersen will join a handful of people, including former president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who have received the honour.

Cultural icons David Kramer and Taliep Petersen will be awarded the Freedom of Cape Town, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced.

The award is the City of Cape Town’s highest civic honour and will be conferred at a ceremony in January.

“We look forward to awarding the Freedom of Cape Town to two very special individuals who count among our city’s most-loved, most famous, and influential cultural ambassadors: David Kramer and the late Taliep Pieterson, who tragically left us in 2006, and whose family has agreed to accept the award,” said Hill-Lewis.

“This legendary duo has not only entertained us over the generations, but has fundamentally shaped South African musical theatre and the rich cultural heritage of the Western Cape. Aside from their countless individual creative achievements, who can forget their masterpiece theatrical collaborations for District Six: The Musical and Kat and the Kings?”

“The genius of these timeless productions is how Taliep and David blended entertainment with social commentary and activism, telling powerful stories of forced removals and community resilience.”

Kramer and Petersen will be among the likes of former president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who are among only a handful of individuals who were awarded the Freedom of Cape Town.

At a council ceremony this November, the City will also confer civic honours and mayor’s medals on a range of individuals and organisations.