kuGompo proposed name change for East London

Ilitye lika Gompo (Cove Rock) has historical significance in isiXhosa folklore and culture. This is the original name the East London area was called before being violenty annexxed by white settlers. Some of the earliest documented mentions of Ilitye lika Gompo go back to 1687, when a ship (the Stavenisse) with settlers was wrecked in the area.

Ilitye lika Gompo has also played an important role in Xhosa tradition, being regarded as a place of spiritual importance. Paternal ancestral spirits are said to reside in the water, and it is believed that ill people can be healed by visiting the cove. It was at iLitye lika Gompo that the famous Xhosa prophet Makhanda (also known as Nxele) was going to call the ancestors from the sea to help the Xhosa nation drive away the white colonialists. It must also be stressed that iMonti has no meaning to us Africans as it is Fanakalo, a translation of Afrikaans Rivier Mond to Monti by the locals similar to the term widely used in this area for shacks Igali which comes from Illegal Structure. We support the name change as it is an affirmation of our identity as Africans.