Mayibuye iAfrika: The liberation slogan that still echoes in South Africa's democracy
The powerful rallying cry, Mayibuye iAfrika, meaning ‘Let Africa Return’, remains one of the most iconic slogans in the history of South Africa’s liberation struggle.
It is in parlance once more after the former Secretary General of the uMkhonto WeSizwe Party (MK Party), Floyd Shivambu, alluded to his potential new political party, named after the powerful catchphrase.
“On Friday, June 27, we will announce the National Consultation Team (NCT) of Mayibuye Consultation Process. As always, we will use the opportunity to exercise what Amilcar Cabral taught us that as revolutionaries, we should, ‘Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories. Tell no lies. Claim No easy victories.’ Mayibuye iAfrika,” Shivambu recently said.
Origin
Used extensively during the anti-apartheid era, the Mayibuye iAfrika captured the yearning for African self-determination, the reclamation of land and dignity, and the rejection of colonial and apartheid rule.
Mayibuye iAfrika is widely believed to have originated within the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC) in the early 20th century. Its roots stretch deeper into the broader pan-Africanist and black consciousness philosophies that began emerging across the continent and diaspora during the colonial period.
The slogan became an official part of the ANC’s vocabulary in the 1940s and 1950s, particularly during mass protests, strikes and campaigns such as the Defiance Campaign of 1952.
It was often paired with ‘Amandla!’ (power), to which crowds would respond, ‘Ngawethu!’ (to us).
Historian Pitika Ntuli believes that Shivambu is using the slogan to call out the ANC’s failures.
“He is reclaiming this liberation cry. By invoking this historic slogan, Shivambu challenges the ANC on its unfulfilled promises and signals continuity with the anti-colonial dream. He also calls for a new ownership of Africa by Africans,” Ntuli said.
Political and cultural usage
The phrase was not limited to political rallies. It found its way into poetry, music, theatre and speeches both within and outside of South Africa. It became a greeting, a chant and a closing statement in political gatherings. In exile, Mayibuye iAfrika resonated in the camps of Umkhonto weSizwe and among international solidarity movements.
Former ANC President Oliver Tambo was among the many leaders who regularly invoked the phrase in his speeches abroad. In 1987, during a rally in Zambia, he said: “When we say Mayibuye iAfrika, we are calling for the return of everything that was stolen: our land, our freedom, our humanity.”
The poet Nontsizi Mgqwetho, the first black woman poet to be published in South Africa, echoed this sentiment in her early 20th-century writings.
In one of her isiXhosa verses, she wrote: “Mayibuye iAfrika. Sithi makubuye uhlanga loMthonyama.” (Let Africa return. Let the black nation reclaim its pride.)
In democratic South Africa, Mayibuye iAfrika retains symbolic weight. Before Shivambu’s renaissance, it was no longer used as frequently in political discourse, but is still chanted during heritage events, protest marches and cultural commemorations.
IOL Politics