Why We Must Strip Science of Racial Slurs and Dictators’ Names

For centuries, the scientific names given to plants and animals have been treated as if they can never change, like they were engraved on stone. Scientists argue that once a name is picked, it should never change so that everyone stays on the same page.

But 2026 has brought in major changes. The scientific world has finally started removing names that are racial slurs or those that honour cruel dictators. This is because science has to become ethical and respect people.

The biggest change involves a specific word, caffra. In Southern Africa, this was a hateful slur used against black people during the era of Apartheid.

For a long time, famous trees like the Kei apple and the Coast Coral Tree had this slur as part of their official scientific names. Following a big meeting in 2024, scientists decided to change these names to affra or afrorum. This small change removes a legacy of hate and replaces it with a name that simply means ‘of African origin.’

This is the first time in history that names have been changed purely because they were offensive. In Kenya, trees like the Kei apple are finally being cleaned of these offensive labels.

While these changes have been celebrated, the work is not finished. There is still a big debate about species named after dictators. For example, there is a blind beetle named after Adolf Hitler and a moth named after the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

A committee is currently looking into these cases and will decide what to do by 2029. Many people, especially, believe that honouring people who caused so much suffering has no place in science.

African scientists have seen how complicated these name changes can be. A few years ago, the famous "Acacia" trees of the African savanna had their names changed to Vachellia and Senegalia because of technical rules that favoured Australian trees.

The argument is simple: if we can change names for technical reasons when naming bodies, then we should certainly change them for moral reasons.

The new rules state that, starting in 2026, any plant name deemed offensive will be rejected. This is putting pressure on other scientists who name animals to follow suit. Because names have power, it is now high time to continually remove slurs and the names of tyrants so that science becomes a language that everyone can use and respect, especially here on African soil.

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