by Phumla Mkize
South Africa’s arts and entertainment royalty gathered in Pretoria as the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) awarded honorary doctorates to Prof Pitika Ntuli, Bongiwe Dhlomo-Mautloa, Wouter Kellerman and Samora Machel.
The ceremony, which featured outstanding artists and liberation struggle activists on and off the graduation stage, was held at TUT’s Pretoria Campus on 17 October.
Two-time Grammy award winning flautist, Kellerman; artist, curator and recipient of the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, Bongiwe Dhlomo-Mautloa; renowned sculptor, poet and academic, Prof Pitika Ntuli, as well as the late former President of Mozambique Samora Machel were conferred honorary doctorates.
The ceremony was attended by global art icon Dr Esther Mahlangu, who is also a TUT honorary doctorate recipient; award-winning playwright and actor John Kani; Ndebele-music songstress Nothembi Mkhwebane and one of the pioneers of modernist painting in South Africa, Kagiso Mautloa, Dhlomo-Mautloa’s husband.
Also in attendance was Malengane Machel, the son of the late former leader of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), who accepted the honorary Doctor of Public Affairs degree on behalf of his father who was honoured posthumously.
Bongiwe Dhlomo-Mautloa with Prof Tinyiko Maluleke.
Prof Pitika Ntuli
TUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, explained that honorary degrees were awarded not only as a recognition of excellence, but as a reflection of the values that TUT upholds. These values include integrity, compassion, diversity, inclusion, equity and accountability.
He said the recipients were chosen for their outstanding contributions to society, which align with TUT’s mission of creating knowledge that addresses societal challenges.
“Excellence attracts excellence, and greatness attracts greatness,” he said highlighting the process behind selecting individuals of character and remarkable achievement.
Prof Maluleke added that the honourees were not only recognised for their past achievements, but for their enduring influence on society.
Machel, who was accompanied by his wife Grace, said Pretoria was a special place for his father because he fought against Apartheid, which was seated in Pretoria.
“This is special day for my family because it is also my mother’s birthday,” he added, honouring Graça Machel, who turned 79 on 17 October.
World-renowned artist, arts administrator and activist, Dhlomo-Mautloa, was conferred the Doctor of Art and Design (Honorus Causa) for her contribution in teaching, curating, preserving and writing about art.
Dhlomo-Mautloa’s daughter Molebogeng Mautloa, who is also a fine artist now practising as a graphic designer, said she was grateful that her mother was honoured while still alive. She said that as a fine arts student at the University of Cape Town she studied about her parents in her first year of her degree as part of art history.
Molebogeng is the eldest child of Dhlomo-Mautloa’s and Mautloa. “It dawned on me then, the massive influence that they had in art in South Africa and how important their voices are,” she said.
Dhlomo-Mautloa is highlighted as being the first professional Black curator in South Africa in the early 1980s in the book Mihloti Ya Ntsako: Journeys with the Bongi Dhlomo Collection. The book is written by Pfunzo Sidogi, the Head of the Department of Fine and Studio Arts at the Faculty of Arts and Design at TUT.
Kellerman – who was honoured with the Doctor of Performing Arts (Honoris Causa) – shared anecdotes of rejection and failure on his way to becoming a global superstar as a middle-aged flautist.
Kellerman, who studied Electrical Engineering and ran a software engineering company before deciding to pursue music fulltime in his 40s, spoke of how his first album was rejected by international record labels.
“It is just not our thing,” he recalled the response he received from one record label, adding that this was as his CD was on the executive’s desk still covered in plastic and unopened. The DVD recording of the album would later win a South African Music Award (Sama).
Kellerman performed a moving solo flute tribute, composed as a dedication to former president Nelson Mandela titled The Long Road. The piece was awarded the Global Peace Song Award in 2016.
Prof Ntuli, who received the Doctor of Language Practice (Honoris Causa), delivered a provocative poem celebrating the languages in South Africa.
Ntuli attended the ceremony with his wife, poet Antoinette Ntuli.
Wouter Kellerman
Samora Machel
Bongiwe Dhlomo-Mautloa
Malengane Machel