Honorary Doctorate RECIPIENT 2023

Dr Zanemvula Sydney Zotwana

Doctor Philosophiae

Dr Zanemvula Sydney Zotwana, born in Kroonstad in 1943, obtained a South African Teachers’ Diploma at the University College of Fort Hare after his secondary education. Following three years of high school teaching in Cape Town, he returned to Fort Hare to complete a BA. Dr Zotwana’s political consciousness was shaped by his mother’s involvement in the Unity Movement and the All-African Convention.

In the mid-1970s, he joined the Black People’s Convention while lecturing at Rhodes University. In 1976, his political activities led to 18 months in prison, where he completed his honours degree. Postrelease, he earned an MA and PhD from the University of Cape Town, where he taught and supervised postgraduates. He has translated children’s books into isiXhosa, authored award-winning creative works and produced educational materials, notably “Xhosa in Context - from Novice to Intermediate”. In 1994, he became a sworn translator and later served as head of the Hansard Translation Unit in Parliament.

He is a past and present member of the isiXhosa National Language Body, where he coordinated terminology efforts and remains deeply involved in the Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education project, significantly contributing to terminology verification and authentication.