September 26, 2005
By Tshepiso Seopa
CITY manager Pascal Moloi was one of the people who participated in a graduation ceremony more than a decade after earning his BA degree, at the University of the Witwatersrand's alumni graduations on Saturday, 24 September.
The special graduation and general assembly was held for alumni who, because of their objections to the apartheid education system, did not attend their graduations at the time.
Some of the alumni who took part in the special ceremony
It was also aimed at building bridges and helping to rekindle old friendships, to take stock of the university's achievements and challenges, and to share its vision for the next decade.
The alumni general assembly, with the theme "A Wits to Call Our Own", was held for the first time in the 83-year history of the university. More than 100 000 students have graduated from the institute.
Loyiso Nongxa, the vice-chancellor and principal, said, "As the head of this institution, I wish to say, 'Ngxe' to each and every one of you, both within this Great Hall and those who couldn't come.
"Ngxe is a Xhosa term, which is an apology that conveys an acknowledgement of the hurt or anger or bitterness that was caused by the action or actions that could have been avoided or were beyond the control of the perpetrators.
"Ngxe is an appeal for new beginnings, closing a chapter on past experiences," Nongxa said.
"It is fitting that this alumni general assembly and special graduation ceremony takes place on Heritage Day," he added.
"We have a complicated heritage defined by injustice and brutality. But our future will be built on the positive aspects of our diversity, our ambitions for a better life and our ability to reconcile."
The ceremony was presided over by Justice Richard J Goldstone.
"It is a joy to welcome alumni who were not able or who felt morally unwilling to attend their own regular graduation ceremonies," Goldstone said.
"I am delighted also to welcome the parents and family members of those men and women who have come up to the stage this afternoon. It is their dignity that was demeaned by the evil policies of the past.
"It was their sacrifices that made it possible for their daughters and sons to earn a degree from this prestigious university," he said.
Goldstone asked the audience to stand in recognition of the parents and families of those alumni who were honoured.
Some of the people who graduated on Saturday include High Court Judge Azhar Cachalia; Feroz Cachalia, the MEC for safety and security in Gauteng; and Xolela Mangcu, the journalist and political activist.
Also on the list was the head of Wits' graduate entry programme, Dr Lionel Green-Thompson.
According to Shirona Hassim, the senior media relations officer for the university, Green-Thompson boycotted the 1988 graduation ceremony and instead organised an alternative graduation in Soweto at which Albertina Sisulu was a guest speaker.
The president of Wits Convocation, Sipho Mseleku, said an alumni "wall of fame" would be built.
"Its inlaid bricks will carry the names of eminent alumni, their year of graduation and lasting achievements," he said.
"Proceeds from this initiative, we trust, will deliver funds to be used for alumni projects that no doubt one day will give us the leaders of tomorrow and so on to carry the wall of fame ever stronger, ever more telling of the accomplishments of our university."
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