AfriForum approaches court to revise Graaff-Reinet’s name change
AfriForum is approaching the High Court in Pretoria to review and set aside the decision of Gayton Mackenzie, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, to change the name of Graaff-Reinet. This follows the Minister’s announcement in the Government Gazette of 6 February 2026 that 21 place names in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are changing, including that of Graaff-Reinet.
According to Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs, the reason for the action is the unique history of the town and the role it has played in the country, but especially in the history of Afrikaners. After the name change had been announced, AfriForum approached the minister with a lawyer’s letter to ask that the decision be reviewed. After almost four months, no response has been received to this letter. AfriForum is therefore left with no alternative but to approach the court on behalf of the residents and all for whom the name Graaff-Reinet is of special cultural and historical significance.
“Surveys conducted have found that most residents of the town are opposed to the name change. Since it had been announced by the minister, several petitions and a protest action against the name change have also been widely supported. Residents associate the name of the town with their history and are proud of it. They are also concerned about the cost of the change, while the town’s infrastructure urgently needs attention. A new name will impact negatively on the tourism industry, which is of enormous importance to the economy of the region. Furthermore, clashes inter alia on social media have proven that the change does not promote unity and mutual respect among the residents, but rather seriously polarises the community,” she says.
AfriForum is also convinced that the process followed with the name change is unconstitutional. This opinion is supported by the fact that a revised version of the South African Geographical Names Council Bill was recently available for public comments.
Bailey adds that name changes in the country have become a useful way to distract communities from important issues such as the lack of service delivery by authorities, corruption, mismanagement and the inability to deliver on election promises. “Name change processes are often rushed through to create the impression that authorities are in control and are acting forcefully, while the most vulnerable in the communities are left in the lurch and the income of the rest is under threat because of infrastructure challenges. Where communities should join forces to find solutions for their future survival, they become so polarised by incitement over place names that no progress is made. Win-win solutions can be found to include the history of all communities without elevating one at the cost of the other.”
