Mbulelo Mzamane was born on July 28, 1948 in Port Elizabeth, and grew up in Brakpan old location.
He was the son of Reverend Joshua Mzamane and his mother was a nurse at Far East Rand Hospital.
While in primary school, Mbulelo was sent to a boarding school in Swaziland, to avoid Bantu Education.
After completing high school, he registered at the University of Botswana, Lesotho & Swaziland (UBLS), obtaining a double major in philosophy and English as well as a separate teaching qualification.
Mbulelo also received a PhD in English Literature from the University of Sheffield (England), and dedicated his life to being a scholar.
He taught at a high school in Lesotho and was involved with re-skilling teachers, reading to schoolchildren and donating books to disadvantaged university students.
Mbulelo held positions in more than 20 universities around the world, working as a professor, lecturer, examiner, administrator and visiting scholar.
After marrying and having three children, the family moved to Botswana opening their home to children fleeing South Africa (SA) after the 1976 student uprising, as well as other people in exile.
This resulted in the family being expelled from Botswana, and moving to several other countries where they continued with their political activism.
Mbulelo returned to SA in 1993 and became the first post-apartheid Vice Chancellor and Rector at the University of Fort Hare in 1994.
The academic produced many works on literature, publishing several books and his work was translated into several languages including Chinese, Russian, Dutch and Japanese.
At the time of his passing Mbulelo was focusing on his initiative, the Encyclopaedia of South African Arts, Culture, and Heritage (ESAACH), which he called his “final gift to South Africa.
Mbulelo succumbed to pancreatic cancer on February 16, and his funeral was in KwaThema, honouring his wish to have his final resting place at home.
He will be dearly missed by his family, friends and colleagues.
