South Africa must be renamed Azania – Vuka Azania

Newly launched civil society advocacy group Vuka Azania has called for South Africa’s name to be changed to Azania.

Vuka Azania is a decolonial think tank launched in South Africa on Saturday, 25 July 2026, at an event in Sandton.

The organisation was established by a coalition of prominent South African legal, religious, academic, and intelligence figures.

They include Reverend Allan Boesak, Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, Former State Security Agency Director-General Arthur Fraser, and Professor Isaac Shai.

The organisation is promoting land restoration, economic emancipation, educational overhauls to prioritise African history, and community-owned enterprises.

One of its most controversial proposals is to rename the country Azania, calling for the removal of the colonial name South Africa.

“We declare that this country must be renamed Azania,” Boesak said in his launch speech at the event.

“The colonial name South Africa cannot carry the full memory, pain, struggle, and destiny of the indigenous people.”

He argued that liberated people of South Africa must name themselves if dignity is to be restored.

Advocate Muzi Sikakane added that they will call for a national debate on adopting the name Azania to replace the colonial name, South Africa.

He said that it is people’s right to name themselves. “A liberated people must have that right,” Sikhakhane said.

The group added that the 1994 negotiated settlement did not bring true liberation, but instead systematically reproduced and insulated white supremacy.

It said that nation-building forced black people to reach out to those who never acknowledged the crime of colonialism and apartheid.

“They never sought forgiveness, and never abandoned the beliefs that made apartheid possible,” Vuka Azania said.