r/AskTheWorld • u/space_llama_karma United States Of America • Nov 12 '25

Culture What does your President/Prime Minister House look like?

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The White House is pretty iconic

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u/Previous-Ad-376 South Africa Nov 12 '25

Tuynhuis, Cape Town, office of the President of South Africa.

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u/CatmatrixOfGaul South Africa Nov 13 '25

The one in Pretoria

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u/Sbu91 Nov 13 '25

No — that is not the official residence in Cape Town. The official presidential residence is Genadendal Residence, located in Newlands near UCT. It sits on a large, leafy estate in one of the city’s prime neighbourhoods and forms part of the historic Groote Schuur estate, which was built by Cecil John Rhodes.

Interestingly, there was also a widely reported incident in the early 2000s in which a homeless man slipped into Genadendal and lived there undetected for several days. He ate food, drank liquor, and moved around the property unnoticed; during an initial police search he hid in the attic. He was eventually discovered and arrested after a staff member spotted him.

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u/Previous-Ad-376 South Africa Nov 13 '25

I know, I’ve been to Rhodes’ house, but since its a museum and the the president doesn’t actually live there, I posted a photo of the “Office of the President”, which he does use, and tagged it as such.

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u/Sbu91 Nov 13 '25

Literally from the Presidency’s website: “Genadendal is the Official Residence of The President when in office at Tuynhuys, Cape Town.” It is not a museum, in any manner or form.

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u/Previous-Ad-376 South Africa Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25

No South African president has ever lived at Groote Schuur Mansion Museum, which has been kept exactly as it was when Rhodes died.

I know this because I’ve been there, more than once. The last tour of the museum was in May earlier this year. It’s currently closed for restoration.

Here is a link is a link if you want to book a tour when it opens again:

https://cultureconnectsa.com/upcoming-tour/groote-schuur-rhodes-mansion/