Discover Buffalo City: revisiting East London in colonial times

Is the decision to rename the airport at East London after King Phalo appropriate? Why was Chief Phato of the ama-Gqunukwebe nation, who had his Great Place near the site of the modern airport, not chosen instead? And, what does the proposed name for the city itself, Ku Gompo, actually mean or represent, and how does it relate to the city and its people? The absence of reference to the ama-Gqunukwebe nation under the leadership of Chief Phato, who occupied the coastal plains between the Keiskamma and Kei rivers for the entire 19th century, is rather surprising? In its place the emphasis has been placed on King Phalo, the 18th century founding father of the pure Xhosa nation, which subsequently split due to the conflicts between warring sons.