This archive report was first published on 15 January 2020.
On January 15, 2020, Tanzania's newly appointed envoy to South Africa, Gaudence Milanzi, was sworn in by President John Magufuli. In a significant challenge, Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Palamagamba Kabudi urged Milanzi to speed up the teaching of Kiswahili in South African schools.
According to Kabudi, President Magufuli had instructed him to ensure that Kiswahili was taught in schools during his visit to southern African countries in 2019. As part of this task, Kabudi instructed Milanzi to seek an appointment with the South African minister for education to discuss the progress made on this issue.
Kiswahili, Tanzania's official language, is spoken by almost all Tanzanians, regardless of their over 120 tribes. It is also regarded as a unifying language in the country.
Notably, in January 2019, former Tanzanian ambassador to South Africa Sylvester Ambokile reported that South Africa had identified 90 schools across the country for teaching Kiswahili on a trial basis.
