Why renaming SA to 'Azania' is misguided

THE proposal of constitutional amendment by the African Transformation Movement (ATM) to change the name of South Africa to the “Republic of Azania” is nonsensical, unnecessary, and irrelevant to the inhabitants of this place.

- KENNETH MOKGATLHE

We should be asking ourselves where the word “Azania” originates from, which language, and how it is related to the people of South Africa. There are no cultural, historical, linguistic, or political connections to the name.

It was during my time as a young and vibrant activist within the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) that I was firmly convinced that South Africa should be renamed ‘Azania. I had been persuaded by the existing argument that ‘South’ was merely a geographical direction and therefore did not have substantive cultural and historical connections befitting a nation’s identity.

However, I later realised that my comprehension of the term ‘Azania’ was very limited to its use within Pan Africanist and Black Consciousness discourses.

Never mind my strong ideological conviction and commitment, I was unable to intellectually express a clear historical or cultural justification for the adoption of the name, nor could I trace its relevance in juxtaposition to the people, history, and identity of the country.

It is important to note that the name “Azania” has no historical or cultural connection to my people. It was never part of our vocabulary or identity. The term did not exist in our oral traditions or historical records, and my community had never encountered it before modern political movements began to invoke it.