Meet the men who are marching for the recognition of the Khoisan identity
Updated | By Nkhensani Manabe
The men have walked from Port Elizabeth into Gauteng, headed to the Union Buildings, where they will ask President Jacob Zuma to hear their cry.
![khoisan men](https://turntable.kagiso.io/images/20171130_160412.width-800.jpg)
Chief Khoisan Africa wants the South African government to officially recognise the Khoisan language and identity. He is not satisfied with the way his tribe's history is being hidden behind the "Coloured" category.
In an interview with GroundUp last year, the Chief said: "I would like to appeal to the government, including the ordinary citizens, that Khoisan people are the original owners of South Africa. The Khoisan people have a language called Khoekhoe."
"People should know this. We have been lobbying this for many years with the successive governments but to no avail," he added.
The Chief wants to highlight and protect the Khoisan culture and the Khoekhoe language, which is spoken by more than 20 000 descendants across southern Africa, but is still not recognised as an official language.
As far as he is concerned, the people of South Africa must not forget that the Bushmen and the Khoisan were the first people, and they were here before settlers like Jan van Riebeeck arrived.
Speaking on the importance of recognising Khoisan identity as valid in its own right, the Chief said: "The most important being the scrapping of the 'coloured' identity. There is nothing called 'coloured race'. We are all Africans and we share the same origin. We all come from the Bushmen."
The Chief is very proud of his heritage:
![khoisan chief](https://turntable.kagiso.io/images/20171130_163004.original.jpg)
Show's Stories
-
VIDEO: Unconventional dinner hack that parents are loving
Here is a dinner hack that could really help some parents.
The Drive with Rob & Roz 8 minutes ago -
"This morning I went shopping and I got robbed!"
Johannesburg resident Liyah Chetty recounts how she was robbed while sho...
The Workzone with Alex Jay 4 hours ago