AU adopts Swahili as official working language
African Union (AU) Heads of States and Governments have approved Swahili to be one of the bloc’s official working languages.
The approval comes following a request by Tanzanian Vice President Philip Mpango who argued that over 100 million people in Africa speak Swahili thus becoming one of the most widely spoken languages in the African continent.
In his request, Mpango said that Swahili is one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa with about 100 million people within and outside the continent.
“Kiswahili is already in use in various communities including the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as a teaching language in many African countries,” he said.
Additionally, he said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared July 7 as the World Kiswahili Language Day.
The announcement was made during the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
For a long time, African leaders have tried to push for the AU to adopt Swahili as the Pan African language.
According to the UN, the language had its origins in East Africa, and Swahili speakers are spread over more than 14 countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Comoros, and as far as Oman and Yemen in the Middle East.
Southern African countries such as South Africa and Botswana have introduced it in schools, while Namibia and others are considering doing so.
The two-day summit also addressed the impact of Covid-19 on the continent and the urgent need to mitigate the emerging scourge of unconstitutional changes of governments and the scourge of terrorism across the continent.
