Push to rename South Africa 'Azania' sparks debate over historical roots

CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit is joined by journalist, commentator and former activist with the Pan Africanist Congress Kenneth Mokgatlhe.

Listen below:

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) is spearheading a campaign to rename South Africa as the 'Republic of Azania'.

The party argues that 'South Africa' is a colonial relic that does not reflect the true identity and heritage of its people.

But where did the name of Azania come from?

Mokgatlhe, a former member of the PAC, says in his days as a young activist, he also believed that South Africa should be renamed Azania.

However, he recently wrote an opinion piece on why he longer believes this.

There is, he argues, no link between the name ‘Azania’ and the indigenous people who lived here.

"South Africa as a name is neutral to the diverse ethnic groups that we have."

- Kenneth Mokgatlhe, Journalist

Mokgatlhe concedes that the name is attached to colonialism, but says that is not the full story and says that alone should not justify a name change.

"You have to get the compromise of what you call [the country]."

- Kenneth Mokgatlhe, Journalist

'Azania' does not have any link to any grouping in the country, argues Mokgatlhe.

Instead, he says, it is derived from the Greek language, and elsewhere.

"And from Chinese and the Persian Gulf, and it was renamed from the term Zange, which also was used to rename Tanzania."

- Kenneth Mokgatlhe, Journalist

For some time, the name Azania was used by certain political parties and members of the Black Conscious Movement - including Steve Biko.

That doesn't mean it was being correctly used, says Mokgatlhe.

"What exists is speculations where you don't know exactly what this term means - they will tell you, the BCM scholars, that the term refers to the land of Black people... but it does not refer to that."

- Kenneth Mokgatlhe, Journalist

Scroll up to the audio player to hear the discussion.