Ido Lekota takes a deeper look at Professor Chabani Mangyani’s vision of a post-liberal, non-racial, and egalitarian South Africa.
During a recent public debate held at the University of South Africa in honour one of South Africa’s eminent scholar Professor Chabani Mangyani, a question arose as to “why his work has not attracted the recognition it deserves in mainstream psychology in South Africa. Is it because he was not psychology enough?”
In response, keynote speaker Professor Nhlanhla Mkhize posited Professor Mangani’s work continue to be undermined in South Africa’s scholarly circles “because in South Africa psychology is not African enough to grasp the work of South Africa’s first Black clinical psychologist”.
This, Mkhize averred, is because psychology in South Africa is based on the liberal way of how Western psychology is masquerading as the universal way in which the whole world not only sees itself but should be seen. In essence, Mkhize’s assertion was that Manganyi’s work continue to be undermine because he challenged the coloniality of psychology in South Africa. In other words, he engaged in what is known in global scholarly circles as Argentinian scholar Walter Manolo’s ‘epistemic disobedience’.
For Pofessor Mkhize, psychology in every society is based on that society’s cultural values and it is therefore fallacious for Western psychology to masquerade as being universal thereby imposing its principles on the world as it has done in societies like South Africa.
To counter that, it is important that societies like South Africa tap into Manganyi’s scholarship which emphasises the need for a psychology that is socially responsive and rooted in the African experience, challenging the existing Eurocentric and individualistic paradigms that marginalise such experiences.
As South Africa’s first Black clinical psychologist, Manganyi spent most of his professional life challenging the epistemic injustice that psychology in South Africa continue to perpetuate. In his seminal works, such as ‘Being Black in the World’ and ‘Alienation and the Body in Racist Society’, Manganyi foregrounded the psychological impact of apartheid and systemic racism, particularly the alienation felt by Black people through the internalisation of racialised oppression.
However, despite his pioneering role and the lasting impact of his ideas—such as linking mental health to social justice and trauma—Manganyi’s voice was and continues to be pushed to the periphery within mainstream South African psychology—which historically was complicit or silent about apartheid’s oppression.
His work exposed psychology’s colonial heritage and called for African-centred approach to theory and practice; which threatens dominant Western epistemologies still prevalent in academia. Although today his contributions are increasingly recognized as foundational for decolonial and community psychology approaches in South Africa, institutional and scholarly inertia has led to his work still underappreciated compared to Western-oriented psychology.
As Professor Mkhize posits, in the South African context it is important that Manganyi’s situation be understood as a reflection of the systemic marginalisation of Black, post-colonial scholarship that contests Western universality claims in psychology, which undermines truly sustainable and culturally relevant societies.
But most importantly, for South Africa as country that is still in transition, it is important to tap into Manganyi’s approach to psychology as a way to building a post-liberal,(because the current neo-liberal approach has proven not to be the solution), non-racial and egalitarian South Africa.
For example, Manganyi’s approach to psychology could help Black South Africans deal with apartheid-inflicted inferiority complex and self-hate by deeply exploring how systemic racism and colonialism have affected their self-image and mental well-being.
For Manganyi, apartheid not only imposed external barriers but also caused internal psychological damage, including internalised racism where Black individuals come to believe the negative stereotypes and dehumanising views imposed by the dominant white society. That internalisation manifests as self-hate, a desire to emulate whiteness, and even practices such as skin bleaching, reflecting profound psychological injury rooted in racial oppression and false consciousness—where one assumes the oppressor’s identity, alienating oneself from authentic Black identity.
By naming and analysing this psychological damage, Manganyi’s framework can empower Black individuals to recognise how much of their negative self-perception stems from imposed colonial and apartheid ideologies rather than their true identity.
In Manganyi’s view, this psychological healing and reclamation of identity will enable Black people to overcome internalised oppression and participate more fully and confidently in society, thereby contributing to the aspired post-liberal, non-racial and egalitarian South Africa.
Manganyi’s approach to psychology also has the potential of helping White South Africans to qualitatively contribute towards the building of a post-liberal, non-racial and egalitarian South Africa.
This is because his approach is grounded in the recognition that the psychological wounds of apartheid affected and shaped the identities of all racial groups, and comprehensive healing and transformation require the participation of everyone committed to justice and human dignity.
For Manganyi, White South Africans can qualitatively contribute towards a post-liberal, non-racial and egalitarian South Africa by:
- Recognising how apartheid also dehumanised them by trapping them in oppressive racial roles and ideologies. This recognition can break down defensive attitudes and denial, opening the way for genuine reconciliation and cooperation.
- Critically reflect on their own socialisation and internalised beliefs about race that uphold systemic inequality. Understanding the psychological mechanisms that sustained apartheid’s racial hierarchies can foster greater empathy, responsibility, and motivation to actively dismantle racism.
- Moving beyond liberalism by building solidarity based on collective well-being rather than individual rights alone. This also means embracing collective identities that do not rely on racial domination as well as supporting a shared project of social justice.
- Acknowledging historical and cultural contexts, whereby, for example, White South Africans can engage with this approach by valuing diverse knowledge systems and working in partnership with Black communities toward healing and transformation.
- Fostering education and transformative leadership—White South Africans can, for example, play a role in transforming educational and institutional spaces to become inclusive, equitable, and decolonised.
It was Manganyi’s vision that by engaging in these interventions South Africans of all races can increase the potential to attain the national dream of building a post-liberal, non-racial and egalitarian South Africa.
