South African political leader Julius Sello Malema has called on the government to introduce Swahili in the national curriculum as part of a broader vision to foster African unity and reduce the continent’s reliance on colonial languages.
Speaking in a radio interview, Julius Malema argued that Swahili is the most practical choice for a shared African language, not because it is the largest, but because it is already spoken across multiple countries. “You might say Zulu is big, but it’s only spoken in South Africa,” he noted. “Once you go with a language that is already in different countries, then you are not going to start from zero.”
Julius Malema, who leads the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), explained that promoting Swahili could help bridge divisions created by colonial languages like English and French, which currently split the continent into Anglophone and Francophone blocs. He emphasized that Swahili’s linguistic similarities to southern African languages, such as certain Zulu dialects, further support its adoption.
“We have made a call to the minister in the past as EFF for Swahili to be taught in schools,” Malema said. “If South Africa takes the lead, we can call on the rest of the continent to start teaching Swahili. With a common language, uniting Africa will become much easier.”
He also urged the South African government, particularly the Minister of Basic Education and the President, to back the proposal. “The most practical thing to do now, if they are serious about uniting African people, is to say: let’s teach Swahili and encourage other countries to do the same,” he added.
Swahili, already an official language of the African Union and widely spoken in East and Central Africa, is increasingly seen by some pan-Africanists as a potential unifying language. Malema’s call reignites debate over language policy as a tool for African integration and cultural revival.
