South Africa: Graaff-Reinet Renaming Backlash - 'Mckenzie Filed a Defective Notice in Government Gazette'

10 February 2026
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Estelle Ellis

The battle against the renaming of Graaff-Reinet to Robert Sobukwe Town has started with local attorney Derek Light, representing the Graaff-Reinet Economic Development Forum, citing legal shortcomings in the process, while hundreds of residents are reportedly signing objections to the name change.

Graaff-Reinet attorney Derek Light has sent a legal letter to Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie challenging a government gazette notice published on Friday that officially renamed Graaff-Reinet Robert Sobukwe Town.

The notice is the latest step in a highly contentious battle over the Karoo town's renaming, first proposed in 2024. Graaff-Reinet was established in 1786.

The town was named after the Dutch governor, Cornelis Jacob van der Graaff, and Reinet, the maiden name of his wife, Cornelia.

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The new name honours the legacy of Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, who was born in Graaff-Reinet in 1924. He was a political activist and the founder of the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC).

"The Minister's notice is defective. It fails to inform the public that they have 30 days to object and also where they can object," Light said on Tuesday.

"This process has to be procedurally fair, and this standard was not met," Light said. If found to be defective, this will also affect name changes for other towns on the list, including East London, which is now KuGompo City.

The government gazette can be read here.

'Massive resistance' to name change

"There is a massive resistance to the name change...

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