Mzwanele Manyi, the well-known spokesperson for the foundation of the former president Jacob Zuma, who need no introduction because he is well-known throughout the nation, recently used social media, notably Twitter, to make some fairly unusual comments. Mzwanele Manyi, a senior figure in the African Transformation Movement (ATM), has stated unequivocally that he prefers to be referred to as an African, not a Black person, moving forward.

Many South African readers will do to remember that, the term Black has been used quite extensively to describe African people of descents, particularly in the modern world. However, Mzwanele Manyi appears to be disagreeing with this name tag, because he says he would like to be addressed as an African person. It would seem, the remarks of Mzwanele Manyi prompted many people to engage in interesting debate.

In his own words, Mzwanele Manyi said: “Very slowly and unemotionally, please educate me why we refer to ourselves as either Black or White when neither Black nor White resemble our pigmentation? Why? From now onwards, don’t ever refer to me as Black, am NOT.