The Durban University of Technology (DUT) International Education and Partnerships Directorate will commemorate the life and legacy of the late President Nelson Mandela, on Tuesday, 18 July 2023 at 14h00. This commemoration will be held as a Virtual Guest Lecture, with Mrs Mathabo Kunene as guest speaker.
Mrs Kunene, an activist, businesswoman, social entrepreneur, community worker and a patron of the Arts, is the wife of the late Professor Mazisi Kunene. Professor Mazisi Kunene was a literary icon, poet and freedom fighter. His literary works were originally written in isiZulu before they were translated into other languages. His two most celebrated works are, Emperor Shaka the Great and Anthem of the Decades.
Ms Philiswa Mncube, the DUT International Students Relations Officer, said that the guest lecture will take place after the DUT International Student Organisation (ISO) Clean Up at Wiggins Secondary School in Mayville, as part of the Mandela 67 minutes’ campaign and community outreach; where the ISO has partnered with DUT Housing and Residence Life, DUT Green Campus Initiative and Eco Troops Projects.
“Mrs Kunene will navigate and walk us through her time with the anti-apartheid movements in the United Kingdom and the United States between 1976 and 1994, whilst referring to the events that took place in South Africa with the late President Mandela, leading the movement. The Kunene family also led many campaigns outside South African borders, simultaneously carrying out the vision of the late President Nelson Mandela, of a liberated South Africa,” said Mncube.
She further encouraged the DUT community and society at large to join the virtual lecture.
Mrs Mathabo Kunene is currently the Chairperson of Gcinamasiko Trust and the Voices of Women Trust. Moreover, she serves as the Executive Managing Trustee of the Mazisi Kunene Foundation Trust, where, she has been instrumental in pioneering the Foundation’s Rural Schools Education Programme in the Amahlongwa Village. Mrs Kunene has been involved in speaking on the work and times of Professor Kunene. She engages in contemporary discussions on all levels with regards to transformation in education, community developments and business. She strongly believes in the notion of an Africa that ‘puts an African child first’.
Her vision is to see the current curriculum matters improve, where students particularly from rural, peri-urban and other disadvantaged backgrounds have improved access to education and educational resources.
Pictured: Mrs Mathabo Kunene
Simangele Zuma
