Red-faced at explaining the name to visitors, a South African mayor is now pushing for a fresh title for one of country’s main municipalities, which translates as a pair of bull’s testicles.
Obed Mlaba, mayor of Durban, wants eThekwini municipality to be included in a review of place names designed to honour heroes of the struggle against white-only rule at the expense of the architects of apartheid.
Durban, the country’s third largest city, is the capital of the larger eThekwini municipality, which refers to the shape of the bay area.
”If you unpack what eThekwini means, it just doesn’t sound right,” Mlaba told the Star newspaper.
”A lot of people overseas have asked: ‘What does eThekwini mean?’ Then you start saying ‘Well you see, ummm, please pass me the milk for my tea’ because you are not proud to say what it means.”
Mlaba instead favours the name of KwaKhangela, which translates as ‘Watch Out’ (for attackers) in Zulu. — Sapa-AFP