Latest news with #Azania
The Citizen
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Warriors of the West's star runner dominates in Westonaria
The Warriors of the West Athletics Club's star athlete, Azania Noah, performed like a runaway train on fire during the Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) Cross Country League 5 held at the Westonaria Sports Complex on July 12. Azania ran in the boys' U16 6km event. From the outset, he broke away from the other contestants, along with Sipho Ellis Mollo from Munseville Kopano Athletics Club. Azania went on a solo flight to cross the finish line first in a time of 19 minutes and nine seconds, while arch rival Tyran Brooks from Boxer Athletic Club came in second with 19 minutes and 23 seconds. Tshepang Ntlatla from Diepsloot Athletics Club took the third spot in 19 minutes and 29 seconds, while Sipho Mollo placed fourth in a time of 19 minutes and 55 seconds. 'I just ran the race according to what my coach taught me. The plan is to focus on the next league and the CGA Cross Country Championships in August,' he said, whose victory had supporters excited and his mother proud. Another teammate who did well in their respective events included Atlehang Mokhobo in the U14 4km event with a time of 15 minutes and five seconds. Owethu Maluleke won the girls' U9 2km race in a time of eight minutes and eight seconds, while Relopofaditswe Ntsane won gold in the boys' U10 race with a time of seven minutes and 31 seconds. Olerato Nyathela also finished first in the girls' U11 3km in a time of 13 minutes and 15 seconds. Other top local athletes present were Cornelia Joubert, who won the Women's Sub-Veteran 4km event in a time of 15 minutes and 35 seconds, as well as Kabelo Melamu, who came first in the senior men's 4km race. 'It was indeed pleasing to host athletics again in our facility. We, however, had challenges due to theft and vandalism of the pipes for some weeks, but we did provide a water truck to mitigate the challenge,' said Rand West City facility officer Ronnie Medupe. CGA general manager Mandla Radebe also expressed his satisfaction. 'It is inspiring to have back-to-back events which paint a good picture for athletics in our local area,' he said.
Mail & Guardian
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Azania has no link to South Africa; it's to do with slavery in East Africa
The word Azania is used as a symbolic rejection of apartheid and white supremacy. Photo: Oupa Nkosi/M&G There is no link between the name 'Azania' and the indigenous people of South Africa The proposal of a 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. 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 or linguistic connections to the name. It was during my time as a young activist in the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) that I was firmly convinced that South Africa should be renamed Azania. I had been persuaded by the argument that 'South' was merely a geographical direction and therefore did not have substantive cultural and historical connections befitting a nation's identity. I later realised that my comprehension of the word 'Azania' was limited to its use in Pan Africanist and Black Consciousness discourses. 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. The pre-colonial society in what is now South Africa was home to various independent kingdoms and queendoms, each governed by its rulers. I descend from the Bahurutshe, one of the largest sub-groups of the Batswana people, who previously occupied the area now known as the Marico region or Zeerust. Our ancestors referred to their kingdom as Kaditshwene (a place of baboons) and Tshwenyane (a little baboon), an ancient twin-city settlement that thrived from 1300 to 1884. Like many other indigenous polities, it functioned as a sovereign polity, free from foreign or external domination. There was a shift in the geopolitical landscape after the Berlin Conference of 1884, where European powers gathered to partition Africa among themselves, laying the foundation for the modern nation-states we recognise today. As a result, the various kingdoms were forced to adapt to these new political realities and form countries under Western-imposed frameworks. A country known as the Union of South Africa was established in 1910, led and governed by white minority rule. A referendum was held in 1960, in which white South Africans decided to leave the Commonwealth, become independent and call the country the Republic of South Africa. The new republic came into being on 31 May 1961. While the name 'South Africa' is descriptive of a geographic location, the name gives a strong cultural, political and historical connection. It reminds us of different epochs in our history and how we interacted with other countries. The use of the word South in the name of a country is not unique to South Africa; other countries have adopted names that are geographically descriptive such as South Sudan, Central African Republic (CAR), North and South Korea, North Macedonia and East Timor. My discomfort at the name Azania was vindicated after I came across one of the compelling writings of South African freedom fighter and journalist Paul Trewhela, who is now based in the United Kingdom. Through his sharp historical analysis, he provides a well-substantiated account of the origins of the name 'Azania', demonstrating that it was a term imposed by slave traders/masters to demean the Black Africans in some parts of East Africa. Trewhela contends that the name Azania does not bear any link to the indigenous people of South Africa and carries connotations or implications of oppression rather than liberation. His scholarship helped clarify that the name Azania lacks authentic historical, cultural, political, or linguistic connections to South Africa and its people. 'The name 'Azania' celebrates the centuries of enslavement of black Africans by Islamist Arab imperialism down the east coast of Africa. It is a disgrace for reactionary ideologists to be using this concocted name to replace the name South Africa,' he remarked. This name, Azania, is primarily used by people who identify themselves as revolutionaries or radicals in South Africa's academic, political and social spheres. It is used by political formations such as the PAC, the Azanian People's Organisation, the Economic Freedom Fighters, and trade unions affiliated to the National Council of Trade Union, among others. Just as I once did in the past, many of these individuals and groups adopt the term 'Azania' as a symbolic rejection of apartheid and white supremacy. Their chief motivation emanates from a desire to eliminate any association with the apartheid regime, including the name 'South Africa', which they regard as a legacy of colonialism and racial oppression. Kenneth Mokgatlhe is a political analyst and consultant.
Mail & Guardian
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
PAC's Jaki Seroke: Sobukwe would have supported the GNU
Former president of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe. The spirit of goodness in the heart of the former president of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, continues to manifest nearly 50 years after his death. According to Jaki Seroke, secretary of the PAC, there was no doubt that if Sobukwe were watching, he would be proud about the relationship his party has forged with the ANC and would be 'urging the PAC to push on until total liberation is attained so that in the end, Azania benefits from fruits of collaboration in the government of national unity [GNU]'. The spirit of restoration between the two parties continues to manifest itself through the invitation the ANC has extended to the PAC to form part of the Liberation Movement Summit taking place in Johannesburg from 25 to 28 July. The letter of invitation, signed and delivered by ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula to his counterpart, Apa Pooe, is a sign of the fraternal embrace the former liberation movements display to each other. Part of the letter, among other pleasantries displayed, read as follows: 'We are delighted to formally notify you of the forthcoming Liberation Movement Summit which will be convened by the African National Congress in its capacity as the chair of the Liberation Movement. This is an esteemed summit … with the participation of all six Liberation Movement parties, under the distinguished leadership of His Excellency Mr Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa as the chair of the summit.' The parties referred to include Zanu-PF of Zimbabwe; Frelimo of Mozambique; the MPLA of Angola; Chama Cha Mapinduzi of Tanzania; the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, a political party that spearheaded the liberation movements in both Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. The PAC, despite holding only one seat in the National Assembly, Ramaphosa gave it a cabinet position above other bigger parties, with its president, Mzwanele Nyhontso, serving as the minister of land reform and rural development. That possibly explains why the PAC chose, without any strings attached, to work and support the ANC in the unity government. Seroke expressed disappointment in the behaviour of the Democratic Alliance in the GNU, saying he wished the DA could do better. Rather than being obstructive and turning to the courts, matters could be dealt with through dialogue and constructive engagement. 'The DA in particular is misbehaving in public with their dog whistle politics aimed at polarising rather than uniting South African people. 'The ANC has lost the zeitgeist they had in 1994. It is seemingly easy to attack their leaders. 'It will take a great effort and time to get the internal politics right. That is why the splits of EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters], MKP [uMkhonto weSizwe party], the South African Communist Party and we, as the PAC, see this as opportunistic and harmful to the agenda of unity. 'Nation building cannot go smoothly when its enemies are embedded and ready to sabotage the GNU,' said Seroke. Seroke said that Sobukwe would have sought 'a meeting of minds' between the two liberation movements to thrash out differences. This, he said, was despite the differences that caused the separation of 1958, which triggered the formation of the PAC in 1959 to chart its own liberation path in the 'midst and whirlwind' of apartheid violence against the oppressed people in this country. The Africanist members of the ANC walked out over what they regarded as insufficiently radical policies to bring about liberation. Seroke said the fact that Sobukwe, with his other Africanists comrades, split with the ANC in the 1950s, should not, in 2025, with new thinking and spirit of cooperation emerging, hinder the PAC from supporting the ANC in projects such as the GNU. He warned against a destructive strategy that ignores new political realities of cooperation and constitutional democracy. Seroke said: 'Coalitions wear many different apparels but the essence is the same. Social forces from a range of political perspectives gather on a common cause, at times even to repel a threat that aims at delivering a scorched earth outcome.' He said now was the time for all South Africans, whatever their political stripes, to strive to help build a better South Africa, and to hold hands towards that end. 'We must try to shy away from political parties that are mostly grouped around cult personalities or driven by a strongman mentality with no discernible principle, but keen on politics of brinkmanship.' Seroke said that in keeping with the spirit of Sobukwe, 'we must be willing to work towards a common agenda, recognising that if we do not, the politics of throwing stones at each other and destroying goodwill will not take us far'. He said despite the breakup in 1958, 'the PAC and the ANC have always had a symbiotic relationship that goes as far back as 1943, when the ANC Youth League was formed to propagate the ideals of African nationalism as a guiding philosophy'. Seroke said the PAC is committed to working and supporting the ANC in the GNU. 'Our aim is not to score political points as we identify mistakes, and reversals of the African revolution gains.' He said the relationship between the PAC and ANC should be mutually beneficial, 'which is to say that when the ANC grows, the PAC should not be stunted'. Seroke said the PAC was willing to work with South Africans from all walks of life and from all political perspectives. 'The time of throwing around our toys, and seeking to wish away other people, is gone. We must, as the PAC, reach out to all South Africans. 'Sobukwe was a man of God, a man of prayer, a visionary who understood there is only one race, and that race is a human race. 'The ANC and PAC will work to ensure that the GNU succeeds, contributing to reshaping our society for the better, and it is unfortunate that organisations and those who are taking potshots at the GNU may be failing to read the signs of the time.' Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela is an independent journalist, a social justice activist, a former trade unionist, and an Anglican priest.
