David Kramer and Taliep Petersen to receive Cape Town's highest honour

My broetjie, my bra! Two Cape Town legends - David Kramer and the late Taliep Petersen - are set to receive Cape Town's highest civic honour, the Freedom of the City.

This iconic duo gave South Africa some of its most celebrated stage productions, including the landmark District Six: The Musical (which premiered in 1987 at the height of the apartheid era) and the internationally acclaimed Kat and the Kings.

Both of these icons helped shape the country’s cultural landscape - and my own love of theatre - with unforgettable performances at the Baxter Theatre in Rondebosch.

As Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said in his announcement, this honour recognises how Kramer and Petersen “not only entertained generations but helped shape the cultural heritage of the Western Cape and South African musical theatre.”

Grand Parade ceremony in January 2026

Petersen, who died in 2006, will receive the honour posthumously, with his family accepting on his behalf, while Kramer will be present at the ceremony set for January 2026.

The event promises to be a full-circle celebration of the sounds and stories that define Cape Town, to be held on the Grand Parade, where Kramer and Petersen’s spirit of song and storytelling will once again take centre stage.

Only a handful of individuals have ever received the Freedom of the City, placing Kramer and Petersen among Cape Town’s most celebrated citizens - alongside the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and SA's first democratically elected president Nelson Mandela.  

ICYMI: David Kramer shares his favourite corners of Cape Town with us!  

Civic Honours Programme Set for November

The Freedom of the City ceremony forms part of Cape Town’s revived Civic Honours Programme, which recognises individuals and organisations that have made extraordinary contributions to public life.

At a City Council ceremony on 14 November, Cape Town will also confer Civic Honours and Mayor’s Medals on a diverse group of South Africans, from sports legends and musicians to conservationists and community leaders.

Among this year’s honourees are cricketers Jacques Kallis and Temba Bavuma, filmmaker Oliver Hermanus, and parliamentarian Tony Leon, who will be recorded in the Civic Honours Book. The Mayor’s Medal recipients include Basil Appollis, Emo Adams, Denise Newman, Sylvia Mdunyelwa (posthumously), and The Two Oceans Aquarium, among others.

Hill-Lewis said the tradition of Civic Honours - revived in 2023 after a 12-year hiatus - aims to “promote pride in our city” by recognising Capetonians who have shaped its culture, creativity, and community.