East London will officially become KuGompo City, while Graaff-Reinet is to be renamed Robert Sobukwe Town after sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie approved 21 geographical name changes across SA.
The changes, which followed nationwide public consultations, will be gazetted in coming weeks.
SA Geographical Names Council chair Johnny Mohlala confirmed the approvals on Tuesday.
“The minister has signed the names, but they still need to be gazetted,” Mohlala said.
“Any objection raised before a name is gazetted is considered premature and the act does not require us to deal with petitions.”
Sport, arts and culture department spokesperson Zimasa Velaphi said the department would issue a broader statement.
“It is not only Eastern Cape names that were sent through,” she said.
The approved changes in the province include:
• East London — KuGompo City.
• Graaff-Reinet — Robert Sobukwe Town.
• Aberdeen — Xamdeboo.
• Adendorp — KwaMseki Bishop Limba.
• Nieu-Bethesda — Kwa Noheleni.
The Buffalo City Metro held public consultations on the proposed name changes in Qonce, Mdantsane and coastal areas in March and April 2025.
Monti and KuGompo were initially proposed as new names for East London. However, a township is already named KuGompo.
A later proposal included renaming the township after pioneering unionist Clements Kadalie, while adding “City” to KuGompo as the name for the metro area — a move that ultimately led to the approval of KuGompo City.
Border-Kei Chamber of Business executive director Lizelle Maurice said businesses should have been more directly involved in consultations.
“They’re supposed to consult businesspeople because we are the ones affected.
“Stationery, our letterheads, everything has to change to this new town or this new place that it’s going to be called.
“Why don’t they just focus on the grassroots, fixing our town, making sure we have clean drinking water, making sure that we have proper roads to drive on so that we don’t have to spend money on tyre repairs for potholes?”
The renaming of Graaff-Reinet previously sparked debate, with proposals to honour either Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe or fellow anti-apartheid activist Fred Hufkie.
Sobukwe — a teacher, lawyer and Graaff-Reinet native — was eventually selected.
He was the founding president of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and led the 1960 Sharpeville anti-pass law protests.
Azania Movement president Nolubabalo Mcinga said the renaming of the Karoo town marked a historic correction.
“The renaming of Graaff-Reinet to Robert Sobukwe Town proves that structured engagement, intellectual rigour and disciplined persistence deliver real transformation.
“For the people of Robert Sobukwe Town, it corrects a colonial legacy and restores historical dignity.
“Our next step will be to advocate for the renaming of the country itself, as ‘South Africa’ is not a proper name but a geographic direction on the continent.”
Historian and author Dr Jongi Klaas described the changes as historically significant.
“Interestingly, Dawid Stuurman, after whom the airport in Gqeberha was named, was one of the people who led the Khoisan Rebellion around Graaff-Reinet from 1799 to 1803.
“That piece of Graaff-Reinet was part and parcel of the Hundred Years’ War, where the Khoisan and the AmaXhosa were united against the colonialists.
“So, changing it to Robert Sobukwe is a defining thing in the history of SA, and we express our sincere gratitude to the minister for taking such a bold step.”
SA has officially renamed more than 1,500 geographical features since 1994, including towns, rivers, mountains, roads and airports.
KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape have recorded the highest number of changes, followed by Limpopo.
In August, the Eastern Cape Provincial Geographical Names Committee announced proposals to change the name of Port Alfred to eCawa, the Kowie River to iCoyi and Alexandria to Nkosi Chungwa or Emnyameni.
The Port Alfred Ratepayers and Residents’ Association has since filed court papers seeking to interdict the process.
Mohlala said the move was premature.
“Any objection before a name is gazetted is premature.”
Residents across East London expressed mixed feelings about the new name.
Darnell Steynberg of Nahoon said: “I honestly don’t think it’s necessary. It’s going to be difficult to pronounce the name, especially for Afrikaans people.
“I personally like East London, I feel like there’s nothing wrong with the name.”
Khuster Mbambo from Mdantsane said: “We are used to this, they keep changing the names of these towns, wasting money instead of using it for something productive.” — Daily Dispatch
