Applying early for admission and accommodation is the best strategy for prospective tertiary students.
Earlier on in the year, protests erupted at various higher learning institutions including Wits University with students demanding institutions to provide accommodation for all students.
This followed the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSfas) introducing a R45 000 accommodation funding cap this year. According to NSfas news the accommodation allowance cap was introduced to manage the unregulated costs of student housing and prevent profiteering and price collusion. Wits, UKZN, Rhodes, Sol Plaatjie, Stellenbosch and UP were some of the institutions adversely affected by this cap.
The high influx of students to universities has resulted in a common supply versus demand crisis. More and more students are currently pursuing higher education studies and universities are struggling to cope as according to a 2018 Inside education report, SA universities were never designed to accommodate large numbers of students in on-campus residences.
Ironically, the demand can be seen as an NSfas success, as access to public higher education opened up post-1994, particularly through the scheme’s funding of poor students.
Careers portal, a website that provides updates on career and education related information reported in April that the department of higher education had revealed that there was a shortage of 400 000 student accommodation beds at 12 tertiary education institutions.
Wits has approximately 40 000 students but can only accommodate 2 000 students on campus, according to the university’s website. The university’s response to this year’s protests was to provide 150 beds through its Hardship Fund, which was set up to assist financially needy students. This can go towards tuition or accommodation costs.
According to research by professor Fulufhelo Netserwa, executive dean at the Durban University of Technology, the student accommodation crisis in South Africa is a result of a complex set of factors, including inadequate investment in student housing, financial constraints faced by universities, and broader challenges related to urbanisation and housing affordability.
This crisis is not new, which means prospective tertiary students should be nimble and wide awake when they apply to study at a university and give due consideration to where they would stay.
Unfortunately, over the three years of my undergraduate study at Wits, I have been one of those students who have been caught napping when it came to securing accommodation. During my matric year, when I was applying for admission to universities (Johannesburg, Free State, Limpopo and Wits) I also applied for accommodation, but for some reason not to Wits.
My excuse was that I had self-doubt and was not sure whether my grades would be good enough for me to be admitted at Wits. This does not make sense even as I am writing it. In first year I only secured accommodation a few days before the commencement of the academic year, at the South Point private student residence in Braamfontein.
One would have thought that I had learnt my lesson, but no, I let a couple of months pass after applications opened, and by the time I applied, all the university’s residences were full. This happened for two years and I had to settle for another private student accommodation, Campus Africa, also in Braamfontein. (Ironically, this year Wits has taken over the accommodation and renamed it Amani).
So, my struggles to secure accommodation at Wits have been self-inflicted. I am back at Wits this year to pursue an honours degree. This time I do not have access to NSfas funding since I am in postgrad. I did not apply for university accommodation because this time I was uncertain whether I would secure funding for the year. Being self-funded, I was not going to be able to afford Wits accommodation.
Wits charges R 51 786 to R 109 077 for accommodation a year, for studio apartments and shared rooms at its self-catering residences.
Private student accommodation residences require confirmation of funding and because I could not produce what was required, I was unable to apply for student accommodation near campus.
This is how I found myself living way off campus in a residential flat in Maboneng in the CBD. Rent is between R 3 800 and R 4 000, including extra services such as water, sewage and refuse collection by the City of Johannesburg.
I must see to it that I have electricity as the units have pre-paid meters. Electricity usually costs me R400 a month and I am able to stretch my usage because I live alone and switch off my appliances when they are not in use. Roughly my monthly expenditure amounts to R 5 300 including transport which is R 900 a month. This is a better option than the R 5 000 to R 10 000 rental one would find in Braamfontein.
My experience is a cautionary tale for those applying to study at tertiary institutions to apply for admission and accommodation as early as possible so that they do not end up as part of the statistics about student accommodation crisis. It is going to take a while for the problem of a shortage of beds to be resolved. According to a 2021 Sowetan Live article, higher education minister Dr Blade Nzimande revealed that R7,6 billion has been invested by the Development Bank of Southern Africa since 2020 in infrastructure projects across all 26 public universities. Through this infrastructure project the higher education department aims to provide 300 000 beds by 2030.
The ensemble put together by producer and trumpeter Mandla Mlangeni took the Great Hall audience through the stages of grieving the failed dream of freedom.
The Amandla Freedom Ensemble led by the Standard Bank young artist for jazz 2019, Mandla Mlangeni, launched their interdisciplinary album Oratorio of a forgotten youth at the Wits Great Hall on Saturday, May 27.
Mlangeni told IOL that the album was the culmination of a production that started in 2019, that sought to tell the story of how far South Africa had come in confronting its past.
The production brought together a collaboration of musical ensembles, with their own distinct sounds, laced with provocative spoken word poetry and a visual artist who used sand to draw intricate images with his hands, live, to the sound of the music. The images changed throughout the production but the most memorable were clenched fists and trees that had African faces instead of leaves. The visual artist, Tawanda MuAfrika also created the album art.
The empty stage was set up as though for a multi-piece orchestra with what initially seemed like too many moving parts. And when the artists walked onto the stage, it was difficult to know where to focus one’s attention. To the right, poet Lesego Rampolokeng sat at a desk with his anthology in front of him, a string quartet and a nine-piece choir behind him.
Jazz pianist Yonela Mnana set up with afro-jazz group A Brother Moves On and visual artist MuAfrika on either side of him. MuAfrika’s sand art was being projected on a screen at the back of the stage. Right at the front was the Amandla Freedom Ensemble with Mandla Mlangeni poised like a conductor with his back to the audience.
Producer Mandla Mlangeni leads a large musical production, fusing poetry, jazz, choral and orchestral music. Photo: Morongoa Masebe
The Great Hall was half full with a mix of students and non-students, with the audience appearing as if they were in the creative industry by the colourful ways that they were dressed.
Katleho Hubi, a third-year bachelor of fine arts student who attended the show, said that she was deeply moved by what felt to her like “a spiritual experience”. She said that the production had inspired her to want to explore the relationship between music and visual art in her own work.
Mlangeni’s production took the audience from mourning to celebration by blending a bit of afro-jazz, afro-beat, classical, poetry and chorus like a true oratorio, which is a large-scale musical production that blends orchestral, voice and choral music.
The first piece of the night, the gathering, started with Rampolokeng loudly reciting spoken word poetry that sounded like a lamentation over a broken promise. The slow introduction of the bass and a soft djembe drum began to drown out the poet and brought in the hum of the choir. The saxophonists led the trumpet in, and then everything went quiet, leaving Mlangeni in a trumpet solo.
The choir was reminiscent of an African indigenous church, with the use of music as a medium for connecting with spirit. They took the lead on ubaba, a song about the search for a missing father. The entire ensemble joined into a melancholic sound of a prayer that for a moment seemed to be a petition that was no longer to an absent earthly father, but to a heavenly father, who seemed to be absent and blind to the pain of African people.
The arrangement came together beautifully. Led by the protest poetry of Rampolokeng, the production carried the same impassioned energy that can turn a church service into a site of protest.
The afrobeat sound of inkululeko brought Siyabonga Mthembu of The Brother Moves On onto the stage to lead in the demand for the freedom that democracy had promised.
The drummer played the consistent sound of a marching band in #movement/soldier’s lament and Rampolokeng came back to remind us that “our hopes are buried alive”, when those who were at the forefront of fighting for freedom, turned to gatekeepers of the wealth that should have been shared amongst all.
In darkness, all the different pieces of the ensemble seemed to do their own thing, like loud mourning at a wake deep into the night, all crying separately, over the same loss. Rampolokeng also cried in his own way, about the disillusionment of protests that yield nothing in the long term, even after lives had been lost. He juxtaposed the 1976 uprisings with the 2015 #FeesMustFall protests and expressed sorrow over the lack of change.
Crying turned to celebration when the show closed with woza, which got the audience to its feet to dance and rang in my head long after the show had ended. The high tempo and vibrant piece goes “Woza mama, woza” but the audience recast it as “Woza Mandla, woza” as it sang along all the way out of the Great Hall.
Vuvu rating: 9/10
FEATURED IMAGE: Trumpeter Mandla Mlangeni leads a multi-disciplinary musical production at the Wits Great Hall. Photo: Morongoa Masebe
Students are stepping in to redesign the hub of social life on east-campus, which aims to turn the food court into the ‘heart of Wits’.
Final-year undergraduate students from the school of architecture and planning at Wits are working on a year-long project named the “Matrix Re-Imagined”, where they will be redesigning the food court.
The project, which started this year, comes after tenants and users of the Matrix on east campus complained about the building not being user friendly.
The task is aimed at rethinking how the space can be better utilised, instead of rebuilding a new building. It is not a campaign by the university management but stems from calls from tenants themselves, who spoke with lecturers in the architecture department to ask for a process of brainstorming a way to improve the way in which the space is used.
Believing that this would be a perfect practical application of what the students have learnt; the department developed the project into this year’s curriculum.
“[What we have gathered is that] there is a problem – the Matrix is not functioning properly,” said Wits school of architecture and planning lecturer Sandra Felix.
“Students are the largest stakeholders of the use of the buildings on campus,” said Felix. This project will bring in completely different ideas than it would if the university were to bring in outside architects for the design.”
Students have a lot of answers we [external architects] don’t have” she added.
The project is currently in its research phase – and so far, students have interviewed both tenants and users of the space and found various prevalent issues of practicality.
According to third-year architecture student Kyara De Gouveia, the issues found include having “bad entrances” which results in people flooding the area, narrow passages, and impractical locations for some of the vendors. For example, the clinic is located downstairs, making it difficult for those with mobility issues to access it.
Bookseller at Campus Bookshop, Lebogang Rabothata described the current composition of the Matrix as “impractical” due to extremely tight entrances which results in a large congestion. She hopes for a redesign which allows users to be relaxed and use the space for “reading and studying”.
The outdoor amphitheater located on east campus where students currently go to relax and work, with the Matrix in the background. Photo: Seth Thorne
As yet, there are plans to move all student office space (including clubs that are currently located by the science stadium and the Voice of Wits [VOW FM] which currently finds itself on the ninth floor of university corner) into the area; and making the space more student friendly with open study areas, and better connections to both the library lawns and the amphitheater.
Later in the year, the students will exhibit their work and designs to university stakeholders and tenants. Based on their presentation, the university will then decide if they will adopt their redesigns.
Students working on the project said they are aiming to make the Matrix the “heart of [student life at] Wits”.
In an interview with Wits Vuvuzela, third-year architecture student Tshegofatso Mashile described the project as being pressure filled, yet exciting due to the opportunities it presents. “[This is] the beginning of every architect’s dream” she said.
Another architecture student, Milan Prioreschi, said that this project is extremely motivational as it bridges the gap between university work and practical work outside. “We are getting real life experience for the first time”.
If implemented, the improvements will form part of the university’s much larger “Building Impact Beyond 100” campaign, which was launched in celebration of Wits’ centenary in 2022. The campaign aims to raise funds which will be directed towards teaching, research, scholarships, student support, student experiences and campus improvements; R2,5 billion of its R3 billion target has been raised so far.
FEATURED: A busy stairway during lunchtime leading to the entrances of the Matrix. Photo: Seth Thorne
Having no formal fashion training hasn’t stopped the shoemaker behind “Khechakat” from bringing her creations to life.
Fuelled by the inability to access and afford a pair of R2 000 European designer boots made by Buffalo, Katlego Khethokuhle Chamane, opted to make her own pair and went on to launch them as a part of her brand and business.
Khechakat – a combination of the first three letters of Chamane’s name and surname – is a shoe brand established in 2022 that makes boots with a fuzzy and warm feel that are covered in faux fur – called the “Dawgs”. The shoemaker is now expanding the range with a pair of heels with fur on the sides of the sole, on sale from Monday, May 29.
Katlego Khethokuhle Chamane holding a packaged pair of the heels with fur on the sides of the soles. Photo: Supplied
She believes that naming the business after herself has made it very personal to her. “I think when something is associated with your name, there is a level of respect and there is a level of care that you put in that [would not have been] had it been an abstract name.”
The 20-year-old shoemaker and third-year economic science student at Wits University believes her brand is the answer for people who like fashion but cannot afford luxury brands.
“Usually, you would find that the best things are always the expensive things,” which is why her prices range from R650 to R1 500.
Moshe Kgame (21), a Johannesburg-based all-round artist and Chamane’s creative assistant, said his employer’s vision is inspiring. “I know her vision [is also something] some people won’t get now but I believe in her,” Kgame told Wits Vuvuzela.
Born in 2003 and raised in Dobsonville, Soweto, Chamane’s township background inspired her to make the most of what she had. Khechakat might have started as a pair of DIY boots, but it is slowly becoming a household name among shoe lovers with the likes of South African-based amapiano DJ – Uncle Waffles – already owning a pair.
She sources everything locally in South Africa to help create much needed jobs. At present the venture is self-funded by Chamane.
Her creative process includes deconstructing a garment just to analyse and understand how it was made, before reconstructing it with her unique twist.
Childhood friend and third-year property studies Witsie, Kamogelo Letsoalo (21) described the establishment of Khechakat as a bittersweet journey. “I have watched [Chamane] fight for her brand, I have watched her find suppliers from far places, catch taxis, I have watched every single moment of it,” Letsoalo said.
Letsoalo added that while she isn’t “really into fashion” herself, she admires how Chamane’s free spirit and raw talent translate through her designs.
Chamane said that her greatest challenge is trying to apply herself fully in both school and business. Part of the reason she is yet to launch a website or dedicated social media account, Chamane said she still finding her feet. Without a mentor, “I am learning all these things for the first time and on my own,” she added.
She currently sells from her personal Instagram account – @Khetho – and it is rare to find a pair ready for you to buy immediately after directly messaging her. “I usually take seven days to make a shoe, sometimes a single weekend if it is a [priority] order,” she said.
Her expansion plans for Khechakat include going in the direction of heels of different types and bags, so she can achieve longevity and reach greater markets.
FEATURED IMAGE: A pair of the highly anticipated heels with fur on the side of the soles, that are being launched on Monday, May 29. Photo: Otsile Swaratlhe
Student leaders have secured at least 300 beds for scholar without a roof.
The Wits Student Representative Council (SRC) has managed to secure 300 beds for students who have been without accommodation since the beginning of the academic year.
This comes after the SRC’s meeting with Dunwell Properties’ COO Thando Cele on April 19, to try resolve the Wits accommodation crisis. A deal was then struck to provide beds for students that are without a roof.
In a written response to Wits Vuvuzela, Cele said that “the deal was initiated by Dunwell’s drive to participate in solutions to resolving student accommodation challenges.”
The SRC said in a tweet on Wednesday, May 17 that “the first 180 NSFAS appealing students have been successfully allocated beds and the remaining 120 beds will be issued as per the increase in demand from affected students.”
The deal comes after students protested at the beginning of the year over financial exclusion and accommodation. The student protests were fuelled by the NSFAS R45 000 accommodation cap as well as the lack of response to students that are appealing their funding status. The cap was instituted as a way to manage price fixing and profiteering by private providers, this is according to higher education minister Dr Blade Nzimande.
Karabo Matloga, SRC compliance officer, told Wits Vuvuzela that Dunwell Properties reached out to them and said they have beds. They then agreed in the meeting to accommodate all the NSFAS students, including those that are appealing.
Dunwell will offer accommodation to students who have appealed for NSFAS and are still awaiting their respective outcomes, students will be able to reside at our building without confirmation of funding”, emphasized Cele.
Matloga, added that “this mechanism is mainly to reduce the pressure from the ‘hardship fund’ so that the university can focus on students that are not NSFAS funded and are not funded by bursaries.” The hardship fund is established by the university to assist students with financial assistance and accommodation based on their socio-economic circumstances.
Students were seen sleeping in libraries and in labs while waiting for NSFAS’ decision on the appeal process.
A third-year accounting science student, who did not want to be named said, “I was struggling a lot, it was affecting me bad mentally and I felt isolated because I was sleeping in a lab.” “I was also struggling academically”, he added.
FEATURED IMAGE: Wits students walking into Dunwell offices to sign their leases after receiving communication from the SRC. Photo: Sbongile Molambo
Student business owners appeal for valuable platform to be regular as it boosts brand awareness.
From student-manufactured perfumes to thrift stores presenting affordable clothing items, the Student Entrepreneurship, Education and Development (Seed) market day was a colourful display of creativity and variety.
The market day was held at the Library Lawns on Friday, May 19, offering a lively and vibrant experience, inviting student entrepreneurs to showcase their diverse range of business products.
In addition to introducing students to their products, the market day proved profitable for student entrepreneurs as Jean Banda from Zer Thrift, an online thrift store, said, “You can see by the way students are buying, they want more of this.”
The Seed programme, a collaboration between the Wits Development and Leadership Unit (DLU) and the Young African Entrepreneur Institute (YAEI) was established three years ago. The DLU, a division of student affairs, provides co-curricular development opportunities for personal, social and professional growth, while the YAEI, a registered youth-led non-profit organisation, empowers youth with practical skills and support to transition their venture ideas into impactful start-ups.
Their joint venture, Seed, aims to equip students from all faculties with the knowledge, skills and resources needed to start and successfully start and manage their own businesses.
Thato Wesi, the executive head of marketing and corporate affairs at YAEI, said that the market day served two primary purposes: to foster confidence in student entrepreneurs, enabling them to effectively “sell themselves” and to provide them with networking opportunities with fellow student entrepreneurs.
Madhi Mohamed, a civil engineering master’s student and the founder of HnH perfumes, said the market day was an excellent platform to raise brand awareness for his business. “People are not aware of these more Arabic, Dubai perfumes and also locally based products … where its more affordable than going to the stores where you buy perfume for R2 000. You might as well purchase one that lasts just as long for R200 [from us].”
Mahdi Mohamed (22) says his Arabic perfumes offer better value than those sold at regular stores. Photo: Terri-AnnBrouwers
Echoing Mohamed’s sentiments Lehlogonolo Mabitsi, founder of Rebellious Clothing, an online based clothing store, said that he was happy he got the opportunity to introduce his merchandise to more students. The third-year bachelor of arts in film and television student added that it was a great feeling to have customers experience his product for themselves.
Among the vibrant stalls, a prevailing sentiment resonated among the student entrepreneurs—a unanimous desire for the market day to become a recurring event. “I feel like it would be more satisfying if these were held every two weeks,” said Banda.
Yasmin Wania, a fourth-year LLB student and founder of Cyber Rats Attic, an online thrift and consignment store emphasised the need for more effective marketing targeting students. “If Wits decides to do it more often, which I hope they do, they should definitely tell everyone it’s happening,” says Wania.
In response, Kristan Sharpley, a student development practitioner from the DLU, said, “The Development and Leadership Unit is definitely interested in providing more opportunities for students to showcase their businesses. As the student entrepreneurship community continues to grow, so will opportunities for them to engage with their customers.” Samuel Zitha, a third-year politics and international relations student who attended the market, said he had discovered several brands he had been unaware of and appreciated that the market was “advertising what students really need, like clothes and affordable jewellery. It was student based, we were their target market, they did their homework, so it was good.”
Students Sphelele Maseko (21) and Samuel Zitha (21) take a break from shopping at the Seed Market. Photo: Terri-Ann Brouwers
FEATURED IMAGE: Lehlogonolo Mabitisi (22), owner of Rebellious Clothing, poses with his merchandise. Photo: Terri-Ann Brouwers
In celebration of Africa Day, Wits invited internationally renowned South African poet to perform and teach students.
At age 73, famous poet, writer and activist, Diana Ferrus continues to dazzle audiences with her spoken word.
Born in 1953 in Worcester, in the Western Cape, Ferrus started writing poetry at the age of 14. She went on to study psychology and sociology at the University of the Western Cape in 1988. She then did a Master’s degree with a focus on Black Afrikaans women writers.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela, the mixed heritage writer of Irish and Khoisan explained how her hometown had an influence in her writing — specially to placate her, when hardships arose.
“The winters were so cold that there was ice on the top of the mountains. That has been etched into my mind”, she said, in addition to this, she grew up in a household where there was domestic violence and child abuse.
Furthermore, people in Worcester worked in the surrounding vineyards which paid them with alcohol — leading to the area having the highest foetal alcohol abuse in the world.
She recalls how the street that separated the coloured area from the white area was nicknamed “Kanteen Straat” (Canteen Street) and those who wanted to shop for groceries on the other side of the street would have to pass this road, “many people never got there” because they stopped to drink in the bars instead.
However, Ferrus is proud of her upbring: “The town formed me. Those were my formative years”, she said.
She won a fellowship to study at Utrecht University in the Netherlands in 1998. It is here that she wrote her most famous poem for Sarah Baartman, I’ve Come to Take you Home. Ferrus said she was homesick at the time and learnt about Sarah Baartman again in a course entitled, “Sexuality in the Colonies.”
Baartman was a Khoikhoi woman who was taken by French travelers in the 19th century to be displayed in Paris as a freak show where she died, and her remains were kept and displayed.
Ferrus said when she stared out of her window in Utrecht, “the stars were so far away. If I was in my own country, I’d be able to touch them.” It was then that she heard a voice in her say “take me home” and, she thought, “that must be Sarah. In fact, it might have just been me,” she said jokingly.
Poet Diana Ferrus teaches the Wits community to write their own poetry in a workshop on May 24 at the Wits Writing Centre. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Ferrus has written many other poems since then about South Africa. One such poem, My Mother Was a Storm, was inspired by the murder of the University of Cape Town’s student Uyenene Mrwetyana in 2019. “I was angry about that, ” she explained.
“I’m disappointed in the patriarchy and the corruption and the violence.” She continued, “It is too far gone now, I do not know how it will change. Unless we put women in charge.”
Philippa De Villiers, Diana’s friend of 15 years and creative writing lecturer at Wits said, “I love her poetry. She is an example of a tradition that has been overlooked by academy, that of the community poet. She carries the dreams of a community. It is the raw animal of poetry.”
Nosipho Mngomezulu, lecturer at the Anthropology department at Wits ,who uses Ferrus’ poetry in her teaching said that her work is important for social science students.
“I use her work to humanize Sarah Baartman and make her a three-dimensional person.” Ferrus humanizes history through storytelling, she explained.
FEATURED IMAGE: Diana Ferrus performs one of her poems in celebration of Africa Day on May 24 at the Wits writing centre. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
In this digital first era, users need to be aware of technology-facilitated gender-based violence and how to report it says Wits GEO.
A collaboration between Sunnyside Hall’s student development and gender equity office and the Wits Gender Equity Office (GEO) hopes to make students aware various forms of online violence and harassment.
The event named “Siders for Survivors,” cleverly plays on the residence name “Sunnyside,” and took place at their main study hall on May 18, 2023. The GEOs started off with definitions and examples of gender-based violence (GBV) students may experience on campus and ways to report and find help.
However, it wasn’t until technology-facilitated GBV (TF_GBV) was mentioned that people sat up in their chairs and started engaging in the discussion more enthusiastically.
TF-GBV refers to acts of harm, such as sexual, physical, psychological, or social abuse, that are carried out or intensified using digital tools like social media. It includes cyberbullying, online harassment, non-consensual sharing of intimate content, and any other harmful behaviours online.
GEO intern Ebenezer Maimele presented the six categories that fall under TF-GBV to the group. Maimele said something as innocuous as sharing posts that portray someone in a negative light could be classified as an act of TF-GBV. Bystanders can be held legally liable for any harm caused depending on what they post or repost.
Maimele, said people can be “upstanders” instead, by abstaining from liking, sharing, or reposting TF-GBV posts. In this way one avoids complicity and can take further action by reporting TF-GBV they come across on the timeline.
Attendee, Chioma Nzelu (18) said, “We often perceive gender-based violence as highly aggressive and explicitly violent, but it can also be subtle and considered normal or a daily occurrence.”
Tiisetso Maleke (25), GEO member said she hopes more students report any misconduct experienced on campus, “we are there for everybody,” not just women.
Mukelwe Mdluli (21), Sunnyside’s student development and gender and transformation officer, shared the sentiment, and said awareness is the first step in empowering students.
FEATURED IMAGE: Wits GEO armbands which were gifted to the attendee’s of the “Siders for Survivor’s” event. Photo: Terri-Ann Brouwers
The Wits Postgraduate Club remembered its fallen patrons who ‘contributed to the making of The Pig what it is today’.
Family, friends and members of the Wits Postgraduate Club (the PiG) gathered for an hour-long heartwarming candle-lit memorial service to honour four of its loyal members.
About 45 people showed up at the club on Main Campus on Friday, May 19, at 19:00 to pay their respects to late Wits alumni, Ricardo Oduah, Eddie Ombagi, Percy Makholwa and Mzwakhe Ngubeni who passed away between 2020 and 2023.
Wits PhD law student and MC for the evening, Tulani Mafulela opened with a couple of jokes about the deceased, which took everyone down memory lane and lightened the mood in the room. He offered the guests drinks and urged them to treat the memorial like a party, to which they gladly obliged as they broke out in song.
“I have known our four brothers since 2016. If you speak about Ricardo, you’ll end up speaking about Eddie and if you speak about Percy, you’ll also bring up Mzwakhe. They were all close and connected that way,” said Mafulela.
The foursome had been members of the PiG since their studies and continued going until their untimely deaths. “Everyone knew them [at the club] and they deserve to be celebrated because they contributed to making the PiG what it is today,” said Flavia Kigozi who has officially been president of the club for a year.
Wits mining engineering alumnus, Ricardo Oduah, passed away on August 3, 2022, at the age of 40, from heart-related complications. Oduah, who lived in Northcliff, regularly went for checkups, however, collapsed and died at work. His wife, Nonhlanhla Ngwenya, attended the memorial but asked a family friend, Leon Okonye, to present her speech as she felt overwhelmed. She later told Wits Vuvuzela that although the service had taken her “back to square one” she was glad that the club had acknowledged Oduah.
Nonhlanhla Ngwenya and Leon Okonye celebrate the life of Ricardo Oduah at The Pig. Photo: Sfundo Parakozov
Wits PhD holder in political science and international relations, Percy Makholwa, was undergoing chemotherapy for stage-four colon cancer when he passed away in March 2023 at the age of 39.
“It was difficult being the sister of someone who was good at everything, but one of his greatest achievements was graduating at Wits,” said his 28-year-old sister, Zanele Makholwa. “When I saw him walk across that stage, I also wanted to do that and I’m glad I did,” the bachelor of nursing science honours graduate, said.
Zanele Makholwa eulogises her late brother, Percy Makholwa, at the PiG. Photo: Sfundo Parakozov
Mzwakhe Ngubeni passed away in 2020 because of a covid-19 stroke. “Mzwakhe was the biggest blow we had as a family here at the PiG. It was unexpected because he was only diagnosed on the day he passed,” said Kigozi. The mother and girlfriend of the computer science graduate could not make it to the memorial due to the travelling distance from Rustenburg, North West. The memorial was livestreamed for their benefit.
Ngubeni’s best friend, Lerato Seohatse, told the gathering that he was grateful for the service because he could not attend his friend’s funeral since he had lost his mother around the same time.
Lerato Seohatse sings a song to honour his best friend, Mzwakhe Ngubeni. Photo: Sfundo Parakozov
Another unexpected death was that of Eddie Ombagi, who graduated with a PhD in gender studies in 2019. He passed away in April 2023 at the age of 34 due to asphyxia.
Kigozi told Wits Vuvuzela that the four had all passed away at a time when members of the club could not collectively grieve or attend their funerals for various reasons, hence the memorial service.
“The idea was not for people to come and cry. The idea was to remember them and be happy that we got to share those moments with them at the PiG. That will speak to the fact that the PiG is more than just a bar and restaurant, it’s a home,” said Kigozi.
The memorial officially ended at 20:30, however, Kigozi confirmed that they had stayed well past midnight as everyone continued to reminisce about the good times spent with the deceased.
FEATURED IMAGE: The Wits Postgraduate Club members pose for a picture during the memorial service on Friday, May 19. Photo: Sfundo Parakozov
Acting president of convocation at Wits discusses her career trajectory and her work to change people’s lives through HIV research.
Doctor Motlatso Godongwana is the youngest member of the Wits convocation executive committee (exco), and as a part of her role there, she is also an Academic Skills Development consultant operating from the Wits Science faculty. Exco members are voted in every three years, by the convocation, which is made up of the entire Wits University alumnus.
“I put my name forward in 2019 and to my surprise I got votes”, said Godongwana. This year she began serving her second term in the exco, which will come to an end in 2025.
As part of her duties as an Exco member, between Monday and Wednesday every week, she spends her time walking students through everything from course material to career decisions. All while working full time with the South African medical research council (SAMRC) as a senior scientist, specialising in HIV research.
Having graduated last year with a PhD in Demography and Population Studies, this year she was on the biggest stage on the Wits campus, conferring qualifications to recent graduates as the acting president of convocation. A task she shared with the president of convocation Stacey-Lee Bolon throughout the graduation season.
Her PhD research investigated the risks and incidences of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among people living with HIV — the work is important for addressing the challenges pertaining to treatment and management of HIV chronic comorbidities.
Although Godongwana grew up in Yeoville, her memories of happy childhood visits to her mother’s home, in Moletjie, Limpopo, are what grounds her. Responding to a tweet complimenting her blue convocation gown, she replied that as a “young girl from Limpopo, seeing myself in this picture is a dream come true”.
She said the best part of her work with students, is getting the opportunity to always learn something new. This is a philosophy she carries with her in every room she walks into.
“You appreciate the person in the street, you appreciate the person at church because that person is teaching me something about spirituality that I probably do not know about. The person in the street is teaching me something about humility that I probably do not know about. Every person I interact with is going to teach me something,” she said.
Godongwana started an initiative while she was doing her honours degree, called I Love Condoms that intended to give young women the information and confidence to practice agency in negotiating safe sex. The initiative empowered young women to introduce contraception into their relationship to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and it also provides these young women with alternatives to using relationships as a way out of poverty. She was featured on the Mail and Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans list in 2018 for founding the initiative.
Godongwana is inspired by her grandmother, who raised 7 grandchildren, at some point, on a single salary but still found time to collect her from primary school, and head to theology classes. Evidently, her work ethic, is hereditary.
Her sister, Moyagabo Rampedi believes that Godongwana’s greatest motivation is “making [their] grandmother proud”. Godongwana herself mentioned her gratitude for her faith and love for God, which were instilled by her grandmother.
She is also driven by the desire “to uplift [people from her community] and make them believe that whatever they set their minds to, they can achieve and there are examples of people who have done that”.
Her colleague Nomasonto Radebe said that Godongwana’s attitude towards challenges is: “if it does not challenge me, I am not learning”. Radebe added that she is very intentional and will “stop at nothing until she achieves a goal”.
By being the face of excellence at an institution of higher learning, Godongwana’s achievements are inspiring for other young black women. Her accomplishments are a testament that it is possible to be a young black girl from anywhere and make it to the greatest academic stage at Wits, if you so desire.
FEATURED IMAGE: Motlatso Godongwana during her graduation in 2022. She graduated from Wits with a PhD in Demography and Population Studies. Photo: supplied.
Wits men’s basketball team defeat 2022 Gauteng Universities Basketball League champions University of Johannesburg (UJ).
Wits University men’s basketball team secured a 56 – 51 victory over UJ senior men’s team, qualifying for the next stage of the Gauteng Universities Basketball League (GUBL) tournament.
Wits Bucks’ Jacques Mahanga dribbling from half-court to the rim. Photo: Morongoa Masebe.
The Wits Bucks hosted rivals and defending champions, UJ Orange Wave, on Wits’ west campus in Hall 29, on Sunday May, 21.
From the first whistle UJ dominated the game, with Peace Famodimu securing two points, only three minutes into the start of the first quarter.
Wits Bucks responded quickly, equalising the score, but UJ wasted no time in regaining their advantage, with an impressive three-pointer from Nimo Dim. This was the first of the two three-pointers by the same player, that put UJ well in the lead for the rest of the first quarter.
UJ’s defence seemed impenetrable as the Wits side struggled to keep the ball out of their half of the court. The man-to-man defence of the UJ side helped them apply pressure and maintain possession of the ball.
The match was tight throughout, although UJ stayed in the lead for most of the first and second quarters, it was always with a one or two-point margin.
Towards the end of the second quarter, Wits Bucks’ small forward, Panashe Dumbu’s basket brought the score to a tie, after scoring two free throws. Wits quickly gained the lead when shooting guard, Jacques Mahanga dribbled twice past UJ’s tight defence to sink the ball in the hoop, but the lead was short-lived.
When a Wits player was tackled, the Wits coach shouted profanities at the referee for not calling the foul. The coach’s actions cost the team two technical fouls, resulting in three free throws for the away side. Two of the three free throws hit the mark.
UJ went into the third quarter without their captain Adrien Belo, who was taken out with an ankle injury at the end of the second quarter.
The third quarter saw four more points awarded to Wits Bucks, and the gradual end of UJ’s lead.
Thandiwe Padzuwa, a spectator, told Wits Vuvuzela that “UJ was under pressure, and they started fumbling the ball too much. They started committing a lot of turnovers”. A turnover is a loss of possession, due to fouls or defensive rebounds.
Wits Bucks strengthened their defence in the last quarter, and had every man tightly marked, making it difficult for UJ to find space to move the ball.
UJ Player Davison Chivero said his team was expecting to win but they were hesitant. He said Wits Bucks “were winning every chance ball, I think they were a bit more eager to win than we were”.
Wits Bucks coach Tshiamo Ngakane said that they have beaten UJ before and walked into the game with high expectations, “it’s always a big game, it’s always a tough game, but we have got a good squad.”
FEATURED IMAGE: Wits Bucks’ Panashe Dumbu (13) defending with both hands up. Photo: Morongoa Masebe.
The award-winning actress has recently ventured into being a voice-over artist and singer.
Wits alumna, Ditebogo Ledwaba, an award-winning actress on Generations: The Legacy conquered “the edge” while working and studying full time.
Born on May 5, 2001, in Limpopo and raised in Pretoria, Ledwaba moved to Johannesburg in 2019 to pursue her studies in BA film and television at Wits University. She completed her studies in record time graduating with honours.
She told Wits Vuvuzela that, “My acting career began in high school when I was doing music and one day an agent came to our school for casting. I auditioned and got the role and went to be on the commercial. I got to be on set and working there was un-explainable; being with the directors and actors was amazing and that’s how I fell in love with it and decided I want to do it for the rest of my life.”
The 22-year-old started working in 2015 when she played 10-year-old Umuhoza in Beautifully Broken. She played another little girl in a Netflix movie, Red Sea Diving Resort, and, in 2019 when she was in first year, she played Alheri, a Nigerian character in the series, Commandos: The Mission. She also played Malu in Professionals.
In 2021 she started presenting on YoTV, a youth show on SABC 1 and played Lesedi in Lioness, a drama serieson M-Net whose second season was released this past January. In Generations: The Legacy, she plays a schoolgirl, Mbali.
Ledwaba says she and Mbali are similar, the only difference being that the character tries too hard to find different things to validate herself whereas the actress has no need to. “I don’t need family, boys, … social media or popularity to make me feel like I’m enough,” she says.
Balancing work and education was a challenge for the talented actress. “It was really overwhelming to a point where sometimes during covid I had to take online classes at work. Sometimes I had to make the decision to catch up with my schoolwork to be able to give my heart at work. What really helped me is prayer and taking it one step at a time,” Ledwaba says.
Ditebogo Ledwaba regularly comes to Wits University to hold Bible discussions with other Witsies. Photo: Sinazo Mondo
From TV she has ventured into being a voice-over artist. She also sings and has released four singles on Spotify, Apple music and other music platforms, under the name Didigaly.
Chrisna van Rhyn (20), Ledwaba’s friend from Wits, describes her as kind and compassionate. “She is always willing to help people and she will call you out if you did something wrong and correct you. You can always lean on her.”
Ntandazo Peter who plays Lefa on Generations says Ledwaba is passionate about acting and easy to work with. “If I would put her into any movie, it would be The Woman King, which she’s part of anyway, but she’s a woman who is a king in her own world and it’s something that other women admire. She’s a young woman who is carried by God, who believes in God and loves people,” says Peter.
Ledwaba describes herself as a disciple, whose favourite Bible scripture is John 4, verse 24: “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Her ultimate goal is to have her own production company in five years’ time.
Featured image: Ditebogo Ledwaba gets her make up done before going on set. Photo: Supplied
In episode six of We Should Be Writing season 7, the team unpacked the evolution of music as a form of expression and protest, through four decades in the South African context. The episode explores the journey of South African music and its consumers from the 80s, 90s, early 2000s and contemporary listeners. From the […]
