How do we practice Ubuntu today?

BY: MTHIMKHULU
AUGUST 15, 2025

ABSTRACT
EVER ASK WHY FATHER CHRISTMAS IS SLEIGHING THROUGH AFRICA DURING DECEMBER, DURING THE SCORCHING SUMMER? ON A NOT SO DIFFERENT NOTE, THIS ARTICLE ENTERS THE CONVERSATION OF THE COLONIAL DICTIONARY GIFTED TO AFRICA, ANOTHER GIFT THEY NEVER ASKED FOR; AFRICA STILL LIVES IN BORROWED TONGUES, CUFFED BY COLONIAL LANGUAGES MASQUERADING AS GATEWAYS TO POWER. THIS REVIEW ARGUES THAT SWAHILI - AN ADAPTIVE MAJORITY BANTU LANGUAGE ALREADY EXISTING AS A “CONTINENTAL” LINGUA FRANCA - OFFERS AFRICA NOT JUST A VOICE, BUT AN OPTION TO RENEGOTIATE ITS PLACE IN THE WORLD. HOWEVER, THE CALL FOR UNITY MUST NOT MEAN UNIFORMITY - IN A SIMPLE WAY, SWAHILI AS A BRIDGE, OTHER INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES AS A LIFEBLOOD. THIS ARTICLE DRAWS LESSONS FROM CHINA’S MANDARIN EXPERIMENT WHILE CAUTIONING AGAINST CULTURAL DISEMBOWELMENT, THE ARTICLE ADVOCATES STABILITY. IF AFRICANS WERE TO BUILD IMPACTFUL START UPS TOGETHER, IT MUST BEGIN TO KNOW EACH OTHER, IF AFRICA WERE TO NEGOTIATE AS ONE RATHER THAN 54, IT MUST BEGIN BY SPEAKING TO ITSELF IN A TONGUE IT OWNS. WHEN IT COMES TO UBUNTU & PAN AFRICANISM TODAY, THERE ARE VALUES WHICH COULD BE ADDED TO THESE CLOSELY RELATED ACTIVITIES. THIS REVIEW BEGINS WITH THE CURIOSITY TO ASK; WHAT IF ONE OF THE PATHS TO PRACTICAL PAN-AFRICANISM STARTS WITH A SIMPLE “HUJAMBO” - TOGETHER?

INTRODUCTION
THE ARCHITECTS OF COLONIAL SYSTEMS TRAVELED THE GLOBE CARRYING THE SAME SPEF BAG - SPIRITUALITY, PROTECTION, EDUCATION AND FREE MARKETS. HOWEVER, EACH COMPONENT WAS A MASK: RELIGION FRAMED AS SPIRITUALITY CRIMINALIZED AFROCENTRIC BELIEF SYSTEMS; MILITARIES, DISGUISED AS PROTECTION, SUPPRESSED INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE; SCHOOLS PRESENTED AS EDUCATION, MARGINALIZED AFROCENTRIC SCHOLARS AND BANKS MARKETED AS FREE-MARKET INSTITUTIONS, CO-OPTED AFRICAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP WHICH PREEXISTS THE ARRIVAL OF WESTERN CAPITALISM . THE SPEF COLONIAL INFRASTRUCTURE UNDERMINED THE VERY ROOTS OF AFROCENTRISM. CENTRAL TO THIS LEGACY IS LANGUAGE (ONE OF THE 1ST FLOORS TO CULTURE), THE SILENT MASK THAT STILL DOMINATES AFRICAN SOCIETY.

GOLDEN HANDCUFFS
DESPITE INDEPENDENCE OR “FLAG INDEPENDENCE” AS SOME INTELLECTUALS MAY CALL IT - COLONIAL LANGUAGES REMAIN AS GATEWAYS TO POWER AND CONTROL ACROSS AFRICA.

ANGLOPHONE AFRICA(1931): THE COMMONWEALTH’S NETWORK OF HIGH COMMISSIONERS AND PREFERENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS REINFORCES ENGLISH AS THE DOMINANT LANGUAGE OF GOVERNANCE, BUSINESS, AND DIPLOMACY. NATIONS PRIORITIZING ENGLISH OFTEN ALIGN MORE CLOSELY WITH COMMONWEALTH TRADE AND POLICY AGENDAS.
APARTHEID AFRICA(1948): AFRIFORUM (AN INSTITUTION FOUNDED IN ‘06) AND RELATED ADVOCACY AND CULTURAL GROUPS ENSURE AFRIKAANS (MY 4TH LANGUAGE) RETAINS EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL PROMINENCE - EVEN WHERE IT DOES NOT REFLECT DEMOGRAPHIC REALITIES- UPHOLDING STRUCTURAL LINGUISTIC INFLUENCE & UPKEEPING THE SOMEWHAT UNIQUE MASS “COLONIZER-SETTLER CULTURE”
FRANCOPHONE AFRICA(1970): LA FRANCOPHONIE (AN INSTITUTION) CONTINUES TO OFFER CULTURAL, FINANCIAL, AND DIPLOMATIC BENEFITS TO MEMBER STATES, MANY OF WHOM MAINTAIN FRENCH AS THEIR OFFICIAL LANGUAGE TO ACCESS THESE RESOURCES.
LUSOPHONE AFRICA(1996): THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE COUNTRIES(AN INSTITUTION) STATES LIKE ANGOLA AND MOZAMBIQUE ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONTINUE PRIVILEGING PORTUGUESE IN EDUCATION, MEDIA, AND GOVERNANCE.

TOGETHER, THESE INSTITUTIONAL SYSTEMS ARE A FEEDER OF NEOCOLONIALISM. ONE OF THEIR CORE FUNCTIONS IS TO REINFORCE COLONIAL LANGUAGES AT THE CENTER OF AFRICAN CULTURE AND POLITICAL LIFE, SLIPPING ITS WAY INTO AFRO MODERN ECONOMICS AS A RESULT.

AN EXAMPLE OF LANGUAGE AS A TOOL OF UNITY
IN 1956, CHINA’S MAO TSE-TUNG MANDATED THE ADOPTION OF MANDARIN TO BRIDGE LINGUISTIC BARRIERS AND UNIFY A DIVERSE POPULATION. THIS DELIBERATE POLICY FACILITATED NATIONAL COHESION, BROUGHT EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION ACROSS THE POPULATION AND MODERNIZED GOVERNANCE. AFRICA, WITH ITS LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY, FACES A SIMILAR CHOICE: REMAIN BORDERED OR CHOOSE A UNIFYING AFROCENTRIC COMMON TONGUE. SWAHILI MIGHT BE THE BEST CHOICE. MAO’S APPROACH SHOWS THAT A COMMON TONGUE CAN ACCELERATE UNITY, MODERNIZATION, AND SHARED IDENTITY - HOWEVER IT DISPLACED MANY OF CHINA’S INDIGENOUS DIALECTS.

SWAHILI TODAY
THOUGH SOME SCHOLARS CRITIQUE SWAHILI AS A NEOCOLONIAL LANGUAGE DUE TO ITS ROOTS IN ARABIC INFLUENCES, ONE SHOULD NOT DISQUALIFY THE ROLE OF BANTU ATTRIBUTES WITHIN THE LANGUAGE ITSELF.

SWAHILI’S WIDESPREAD USE MAKES IT A NOTABLE CANDIDATE FOR AFRICA’S FUTURE. IN TANZANIA, NORTH OF 80% SPEAK SWAHILI AS A SECOND LANGUAGE, IT SERVES AS THE PRIMARY MEDIUM IN PRIMARY EDUCATION AND EVERYDAY ADMINISTRATION.

IN KENYA, SWAHILI HOLDS THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE TITLE. THE OFFICIAL RANKED LANGUAGE IS NONE OTHER THAN ONE OF THE GOLDEN HANDCUFF LANGUAGES, ENGLISH. SWAHILI IS SPOKEN BY AN ESTIMATED 80–85 % OF THE KENYAN POPULATION, OPERATING IN SOCIETY’S EVERYDAY LIFE, INCLUDING SCHOOLS AND MEDIA. PROOF FROM UGANDA DISPLAYS OVER 24 MILLION SPEAKERS, DRIVEN BY ITS GROWING RECOGNITION AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE.

THE DRC MARKS SWAHILI AMONGST ITS FOUR NATIONAL LANGUAGES, PARTICULARLY IN THE EASTERN REGIONS, WITH ESTIMATES OF 10 MILLION NATIVE SPEAKERS IN THOSE AREAS. RWANDA AND BURUNDI, WITH A COMBINED POPULATION OVER 25 MILLION BOTH OFFICIALLY ADOPTED SWAHILI TO HARMONIZE EAST AFRICAN INTEGRATION.

FURTHERMORE, SWAHILI THRIVES IN COMOROS, COASTAL MOZAMBIQUE, NORTHERN ZAMBIA, MALAWI AND COMPONENTS OF SOUTH SUDAN. SOME BROADER ESTIMATES PLACE THE NUMBER OF SWAHILI SPEAKERS TO 230 MILLION ACROSS THE CONTINENT ALTEZZA TRAVEL.

GLIMPSES OF PAN-AFRICANISM
AS IMPORTANT AS HIGHLIGHTING THE SHORTFALLS, INSECURITIES AND CORRUPTION ADOPTED BY AFRICAN “LEADERS” IS, THERE ARE A SIGNIFICANT POLICY SHIFTS TO NOTE:

AT THE 35TH AU ASSEMBLY (FEBRUARY 2022), SWAHILI WAS FORMALLY APPROVED AS THE 6TH WORKING LANGUAGE OF THE AFRICAN UNION - ALONGSIDE SOME OF OUR GOLDEN HANDCUFF LANGUAGES - ENGLISH, FRENCH, ARABIC, PORTUGUESE, AND SPANISH. WHETHER THE EU GAVE AUTHORIZATION TO THIS MOVE OR NOT, IT’S AN IMPROVEMENT. PAN AFRICAN UNIVERSITY
UNESCO RECOGNIZED SWAHILI’S VALIDITY BY DECLARING JULY 7 AS WORLD KISWAHILI LANGUAGE DAY CAPE TIMES

A COMMON AFRICAN VOICE
IN THE WORDS OF JULIUS SELLO MALEMA, “AFROPHOBIA’S GREATEST TRAGEDY IS THAT AFRICANS DO NOT KNOW EACH OTHER”. COLONIAL BORDERS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MAINTAIN DIVISIONS. AS WORLD LEADERS CONVENE THROUGHOUT 2025 TO SHAPE GLOBAL POLICY - INCLUDING PLANS FOR AFRICA IN AFRICA’S EXCLUSION - AFRICA MUST ASK ITSELF: WHAT IF WE TAKE OUR OWN TIME TO GATHER OUR TOOLS FIT FOR THE GLOBAL TABLE? WHAT HAPPENS IF WE TAKE OUR OWN TIME TO RECALCULATE OUR REAL ECONOMIC VALUE? WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DISCONTINUE THE WORLD’S APPROACH OF DEALING WITH US AS INDIVIDUALS? RESPONDING AS ONE HARMONISED VOICE WOULD ALLOW AFRICA TO NEGOTIATE FROM STRENGTH, RATHER THAN FRAGMENTATION. BUT BEFORE THAT, AFRICA MUST HEAL ITS DISCONNECTION.

COUNTERARGUMENT: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE EXISTING INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES WHO FACE STRUCTURAL EXCLUSION?
MAO’S APPROACH CAN BE SEEN AS BOTH STRATEGICALLY WISE AND CULTURALLY CARELESS - WHILE THIS PIECE SUGGESTS SWAHILI’S ADOPTION AS A UNIFYING LINGUA FRANCA COULD FOSTER GREATER CONTINENTAL COHESION, ECONOMIC COLLABORATION, AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE, IT MUST NOT COME AT THE EXPENSE OF ERASING THE IDENTITY, HERITAGE, AND DEEP-ROOTED WISDOM EMBEDDED IN LOCAL MOTHER TONGUES. CHINWEIZU’S “THINGS FALL APART” SERVES AS A REMINDER FOR AFRICA’S REHABILITATION METHODS - AFRICA SHOULD NOT TURN INTO THE VERY SAME COLONIZERS WHO ENTRAPPED THEM. THE PRIORITIZATION OF ONE LANGUAGE DOESN’T MEAN THE DISEMBOWELMENT OF THE OTHERS, THE GOAL SHOULD NOT BE REPLACEMENT, BUT EMBRACED COEXISTENCE: A BALANCE WHERE SWAHILI FUNCTIONS AS A BRIDGE ACROSS AFRICA WHILE INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES REMAIN THE LIFEBLOOD OF REGIONAL COMMUNITY IDENTITY.

THIS RAISES FURTHER QUESTIONS THAT DEMAND PRACTICAL REFLECTION: HOW MIGHT SCHOOLS EMBRACE BILINGUAL OR EVEN MULTILINGUAL APPROACHES, ENSURING SWAHILI UNITES WITHOUT DIMINISHING THE EVERYDAY USE OF REGIONAL LANGUAGES? SWAHILI CLASSROOMS SET ASIDE FOR THE LARGE NUMBER OF EXISTING AFRICAN SCHOLARS WHO’D LIKE TO REMAIN AND LEAD THEIR LIVES IN AFRICA, TEACHING BUSINESS, SCIENCE, ART IN THE SWAHILI LANGUAGE WHILE COEXISTING WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF SCHOOLING OPERATIONS - WHAT DOES THAT SCHOOL LOOK LIKE? IN WHAT WAYS CAN LOCAL COMMUNITIES TAKE OWNERSHIP OF WORKSHOPPING THEIR INDIGENOUS TONGUES - THROUGH ORAL TRADITIONS, CULTURAL FESTIVALS, OR GRASSROOTS EDUCATION OUTSIDE FORMAL SCHOOLING? TAKE THE RIGHT OF PASSAGE BETWEEN BOYHOOD AND UBUDODA TAUGHT THROUGH INITIATION JOURNEYS IN PARTS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA, WHAT IF THE CLANDESTINY OF THOSE PROCEDURES BECAME RESPONSIBLY REVEALED BY VILLAGE EXPERTS? WHAT ROLE SHOULD ACTIVISTS AND GOVERNING BODIES PLAY IN BALANCING THE PROMOTION OF SWAHILI WITH THE SAFEGUARDING OF LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY? COULD THEY SPONSOR PROGRAMS THAT TRAIN TEACHERS IN BOTH SWAHILI AND REGIONAL LANGUAGES? HOW CAN MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES BE LEVERAGED TO KEEP INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES ALIVE, VISIBLE AND RELEVANT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS? IS A COMPELLING SPORTS AD OF PULAAR AND BAMBARA SPEAKERS ENOUGH TO INSPIRE THE PEOPLE OF THOSE REGIONAL LANGUAGES? CROSS COLLABORATIONS WITH INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED TWITCH/YOUTUBE STREAMERS - OFFERING TOUR GUIDED TRIPS LEAD BY AFRICA’S LOCALS IN EXCHANGE FOR PLATFORMING THE LANGUAGES STEMMING FROM THE SELECTED REGION, WHAT ARE THE CHANCES THOSE TYPES OF STREAM TOURS GAINING TRACTION?

CONCLUSION
ULTIMATELY, AS A MINORITY GROUP, SWAHILI STILL HOLDS THE STRUCTURAL CAPACITY TO FUNCTION AS AFRICA’S MOST PRACTICAL POWER LANGUAGE, HENCE THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATION: MAKE SWAHILI A COMPULSORY OPTIONAL SUBJECT CHOICE IN ALL AFRICAN SCHOOL CURRICULUMS.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SPECIAL APPRECIATION GOES TO THE THREE REVIEWERS WHO PROVIDED COMMENTARY AND CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK. THIS REVIEW WAS FIRST DRAFTED IN 2022, REVISED IN 2023, EDITED AND PUBLISHED IN 2025; HIGHLY INFLUENCED BY THE WORKS OF MR. MAAZI CHINWEIZU AND MS. MAGATTE WADE.

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