What is in a name?

MARIUS KUDUMO WRITES:

Names, especially among indigenous African people, denote identity, carry cultural and historical meanings, and represent in some instances, moral and educational values.SThe Security Cluster in Namibia, as part of the deployment plan for the country-wide lockdown in Zone 2, Kavango East, had a checkpoint with the name Evero Crossing.

I was born at, and grew up near this village, and my lower primary education was at Katere Primary School, which is very close to the checkpoint, but have never heard of this name. The village where the checkpoint is situated is known as Kayova, and the riverside as Kashipe. It was strange to become aware of the newly coined name when it was used in an official and legal Government document. I am also not sure when the name was changed, who has changed it, and who has approved it? The Security Cluster's public relations representatives and the Gciriku Traditional Authority could perhaps shed light on these issues.

Is it appropriate and legal to use a non-existent and/or non-officially recognized name in official Government documents?

The new name is inconsistent with the orthography of the language, and unintelligent linguistically. We do not have any other place in the Gciriku area that starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o and u) unless it is through borrowing or misrepresentation, especially by the colonialists. Reference to Kavango as "Okavango" is also incorrect. This name invites scholarly curiosity to inquire about its origin. As a speaker of the language and an educationalist, I feel offended when people coin names without due regard to the necessary sensitivity towards the speakers of the language in a multilingual and cultural diverse society.

We must not perpetuate colonial disrespect for indigenous African names and languages, indigenous knowledge systems and indigenous cultural values in post-colonial contexts.