In a statement, Wits University extended its heartfelt condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of the late Professor Mzilikazi Khumalo, who is said to have been a colossal figure in South Africa’s academic, cultural and public landscape.
Khumalo passed away on June 22 following a long illness. To the world, Khumalo was a renowned musician, to Wits University, he was first and foremost an academic who contributed immensely to the development and academic standing of the study of African languages.
He was a trained as a teacher graduating with a BA degree majoring in English and isiZulu, and a BA Honours from Unisa. He then joined the Department of African Languages at Wits as a tutor in 1969 and proceeded to earn his PhD in 1987.
Khumalo served a long stint as Professor of African Languages and Head of the Department before retiring in 1998. He also devoted time to music studies, including theory and composition, under various leading figures in music education and performance like Charles Norburn of Pretoria, Professor Khabi Mngoma of the University of Zululand and Zandi Casan of the University of the Witwatersrand.
Professor Khumalo had the honour of serving in the Anthem Committee, a monumental national project that developed the new national anthem of South Africa. His compositions won numerous awards in his lifetime and he was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, M-Net Literary Awards, and had a piano concerto composed in his honour – Mzilikazi Emhlabeni composed by Bongani Ndodana-Green.
Wits University awarded Khumalo an honorary Doctorate in 2015 and he was bestowed the same honour by the University of South Africa, the University of Zululand, the University of Fort Hare and Stellenbosch University.
