In Memoriam 2024
Chabani Manganyi (1960-2024)
Distinguished academic, scholar, intellectual activist, psychologist, and public servant Professor Noel Chabani Manganyi (DLitt 2008) died on 31 October 2024.
He was born in the district of Louis Trichardt and after his schooling, studied at the University of South Africa where he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962 and received an honours degree in psychology in 1964, a master’s in 1968 and a doctorate in 1970 with a thesis titled “Body Image in Paraplegia”. As part of his doctoral requirements, he held an internship in clinical psychology at Baragwanath Hospital and was appointed as a clinical psychologist, a post he occupied for three years until he left to take up a post-doctoral fellowship at Yale from 1973 until 1975.
Prof Manganyi published a series of monographs – the first was Being Black in the World (Spro-cas/Ravan1973, WUP 2019), the last Looking Through the Keyhole (Raven Press 1981). In these works, he examined the effects of institutionalised racism on the internal worlds and external realities of South Africans – including alienation, distorted relations with the body and quest for freedom. He was one of the few, who before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, took the psychological effects of racism on society seriously.
Central to these texts was identity development in oppressive social contexts. These early works were the first attempts by a South African psychologist to examine the interface between the individual and society in the context of systematically asymmetrical relations of power. The texts identified and called for key mental health services to be made accessible to South Africans.
Prof Manganyi examined the effects of violence on individuals and groups in Mashangu’s Reverie (Ravan 1977), which explores the place of the Black Consciousness Movement as the antithesis of the dominant and racist culture – and is seminal in the field of psychology. The exploration of the phenomenon of violence is reprised and elaborated in his more recent publications.
In 1976 he took up a professorship at the University of Transkei, where he established the Department of Psychology and served as its first chair. In 1980 he was appointed senior research fellow and visiting professor at Wits’ African Studies Institute. This was his home for 10 years and the place where he produced two of his most seminal works that laid the foundation for his subsequent research. He continued his clinical practice part time and spent 1985 back at Yale as a visiting fellow.
In 1990, he became Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the North. When a fully democratic government was established in 1994, Prof Manganyi stepped into the office of director general in the Department of Education, a position he held until 1999, when he became advisor to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria. In 2003, he was appointed Vice-Principal of UP, an office he held until March 2006. He served on the board of Wits University Press.
The concept of identity creation and retrieval, the theme of Mashangu’s Reverie, in part led to the second phase of Professor Manganyi’s literary production, which involved history and biography. He suggested that biography is the ‘stock-in-trade of a clinical psychologist’ in the ‘study and reconstruction of lives both in health and disease’. The first life he chose to study, was one of South Africa’s best-know authors in Exiles and Homecomings: A Biography of Es’kia Mphahlele (Ravan Press 1983).
The third phase of his intellectual life pursued the life of painter Gerald Sekoto, publishing A Black Man Called Sekoto (1996), which was a finalist in the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award and Gerald Sekoto: I am an African (2006). This was followed by the volume edited with David Attwell, 'Bury Me at the Marketplace: Es’kia Mphahlele and Company. Letters 1943-2006 (WUP 2009), in 2009; his memoir Apartheid and the Making of a Black Psychologist (WUP 2016), that won the Academy of Science of South Africa’s Humanities Book Award.
In 2024 his contribution was recognised by the Caribbean Philosophical Association when he was named a recipient of the Frantz Fanon Lifetime Achievement Award.
When he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Wits in 2008, the citation read: “In the best Wits intellectual tradition Prof Manganyi has achieved enormous output, while remaining unassuming.”
Sources: Wits archive, Polity and The Conversation
Neville Melville (1937-2024)
Beloved teacher and education administrator Neville Melville (BA 1962, BA Hons 1988) died in Johannesburg on 29 September 2024 at the age of 86. On the news of his death, the family received messages from past students describing how they were inspired by him and how their lives were changed by his vision to uplift disadvantaged communities.
Melville, who graduated from Wits in 1962 , was also a keen sportsman, representing the university in tennis and cross country.
He taught mathematics and geography at various South African schools. In 1975 he was appointed vice-principal at Mondeor High School in Johannesburg, and in 1979 became principal at Lyttleton Manor High School.
Between 1993 and 1997, Melville served as a superintendent for the Department of Education in the West Rand. With the advent of democracy in South Africa, he was appointed as a member of a two-man commission to evaluate four education departments and to formulate a strategy to establish one, multiracial department with a suitable examination system. He was also appointed to a board of commissioners to evaluate the credibility of the matriculation examination.
In 1998, Melville registered a non-profit trust called the Edumap Education Development Trust, which was aimed at upgrading mathematics and physical science by providing academic enrichment courses to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It continues to do excellent work based on a transition model from secondary school level to tertiary level. This has ensured a 99% success rate at tertiary for the students who have attended the Edumap College.
Melville served as a trustee and chairman of the South Deep Education Trust and the South Deep Community Trust between 2014 and 2023.
He was a devoted family man who will be remembered for his work ethic, tenacity and generosity.
He is survived by his wife Glenys, daughters Karen (BSc 1988, HDipEd 1989, BSc Hon 1990, MSc 2003, PhD 2013), Vanessa (BNurs 1993) and four grandchildren.
Source: The Meville family
Sifiso Dabengwa (1958-2024)
Former MTN CEO and Eskom chair Sifiso Dabengwa (MBA 1993) died on 1 September 2024 at the age of 63 from cancer. The Zimbabwean-born executive had an electrical engineering degree from the University of Zimbabwe and an MBA from Wits Business School.
As a youngster, he confessed to having no career aspirations, other than “to be an engineer”. When he completed his engineering degree, he did a few years as a trainee on British Rail. After that, he went to work on Zimbabwe Railways, before joining a consulting engineering firm based in Pretoria, where he worked on projects in Botswana, Swaziland and the former Bophuthatswana. He told WBS Journal that doing his MBA full-time changed his life: “In the sense that it was unique, because it created new opportunities for changing my career.” He said Nick Binedell, then director of WBS influenced him most. He joined Eskom on completing his MBA and left the parastatal as executive director of distribution to join MTN in 1999 as managing director of South African operations.
Dabengwa was instrumental in guiding MTN through significant phases of growth and transformation across Africa between 2011 and 2015 as CEO. He was appointed to the Eskom board in January 2018, just before the country’s delegation went to the World Economic Forum in Davos to assure investors that it was cleaning up state-owned entities.
He resigned from the position in 2020. MTN president and CEO Ralph Mupita said Dabengwa’s impact was significant. “Sifiso was respected not only for his professional achievements, but also [the] integrity, humility and the respect he showed to all who worked with him. He was a mentor to many and a leader who exemplified the values of commitment and service.”
He was fiercely private and found talking about himself uncomfortable and being photographed disconcerting. He referred to himself as “one” rather than “me” and spoke very softly.
He is survived by his wife, Naspers SA CEO Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa and four children.
Sources: BusinessLIVE, WBSJournal
Colin Plotkin (1948-2024)
Dr Colin Plotkin (MBBCh 1980) died on 5 October 2024. He was an experienced medical consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the medical insurance industry. He was a recognised healthcare services professional, with decades of experience in insurance, customer service, employee benefits design, strategic planning, and business process improvement. In 2003, he founded Colin Plotkin & Sons Consulting, which later became Plotkin Health.
Ian Cameron, Editor-in-Chief of The International Travel & Health Insurance Journal said: “Colin and I often had lively exchanges of opinion during our interactions at conferences, and I had great respect for his passion for the industry. He held strong views on the international healthcare sector, and was never afraid to air those views. While he had been retired for some time, he will nonetheless be missed within the community.”
Dr Plotkin is survived by his wife Chery, Shaun, Darren, Ricci, Glen and 13 grandchildren.
Source: International Travel & Health Insurance Journal
Ian Froman (1937-2024)
Founding father of Israeli tennis, Dr Ian Froman (BDS 1961) died at the age of 87 on 8 September 2024. Dr Froman served as chairman and president of the Israel Tennis Association and chairman of the Israel Tennis Centres for many years. He received the Israel Prize for his work in the field of sports and body culture in 1989 and was also awarded the International Jewish Spots Hall of Fame Pillar of Achievement Award.
He was born in South Africa, the son of parents who were two of the founders of King David Linksfield, with his mother being the first headmistress. His love affair with tennis started at the age of four, and he played during his time at King Edward VII School. He reached the third round of the Wimbledon Championships in 1955 as an 18-year-old and was exposed to the likes of Jimmy Connors, Ilie Năstase, and Billie Jean King.
Shortly after graduating from Wits, he made the squad for the South African Davis Cup team and was chosen for the Maccabi Games in 1961. In 1964 he immigrated to Israel with his wife and played for Israel in Davis Cup and later captained the team.
In 1974 he left dentistry to devote himself full time to the sport saying: “Tennis is an educational sport because whether you are playing competitively or socially, you meet people from all backgrounds irrespective of their finances or religion.” He embarked on a huge project to fund the Israel Tennis Centre’s organisation that changed the face of the sport. It served as a breeding ground for the country’s top players.
Dr Froman is survived by his wife Ruth, children Yarona, Amira, Philip and their families.
Sources: JPost and SA Jewish Report
Rose Norwich (1921-2024)
One of the few alumnae to qualify in the field of architecture at Wits during the 1940s, Rose Norwich (BArch 1943, MArch 1988), died on 26 August 2024 at the age of 103.
She was born in Johannesburg in 1921 to Abraham and Lily Sive. Her father was a Lithuanian immigrant who worked in a pharmacy, while her mother’s family originally came from England in the late 19th century. She was one of five children and grew up in a home in Houghton. In her biography, In Celebration of a Century, she recalled that the house had a garden with a willow tree, from which her father made whistles, as well as a tennis court, and an orchard with plums, figs, and walnuts.
Norwich matriculated from Johannesburg Girls’ High School, known as Barnato Park, and started her studies at Wits in 1939. She met and married Isadore “Oscar” Norwich (MBBCh 1933) in 1945. He was a Johannesburg surgeon, who was an avid collector of Africana maps.
Norwich was always involved in community life, serving as vice president and later president of the Union of Jewish Women of the South Africa in the 1970s, at an important time in the country’s history. She was outspoken in her opposition to apartheid, saying at the Union’s 1979 conference that “history has shown us that it is not possible for one section of the population forever to dominate another”.
In 1988 she was awarded her master’s degree with distinction from Wits titled “Synagogues on the Witwatersrand and in Pretoria before 1932: their origin, form and function”. This was based on her work as the joint convenor of a documentary project to record the history of Jewish communities in country areas of South Africa, co-heading a team with Adrienne Kollenberg and Phyllis Jowell. It was exhibited at the Tel Aviv University in 1980 and has since grown into the publication of six volumes by The South African Friends of Beth Hatefutsoth. The collection provides a unique record of the estimated 10 000 to 20 000 Jewish people who lived in the country districts of South Africa at various times from as far back as the 1820 Settlers, to almost the present day. In this, she compiled a history of 43 shul buildings, tracing, copying, and drawing the plans of each.
Norwich is survived by her four children Michael (MA 1969, MBA 1973), Brahm, Elda, and Lorraine; eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
She described herself as “lucky in life”, grateful for good parents, an excellent education, happy marriage and family life. “You can’t do it all yourself,” she was fond of saying.
Sources: Wits Review, South African Jewish Report
Moyra Robinson (1932-2024)
One of the early women graduates from Wits, Moyra Robinson, formerly Levieux (Dip QS 1960), died on 24 August 2024 at the age of 92.
She was born on the 26 May 1932 in Johannesburg to an English father with the surname “Missing” and a Scottish mother. Her father had studied electrical engineering and came to South Africa in the early 1900s to install the first lift in the country. Her mother’s family, who hailed from Wick in in the far north of Scotland, emigrated to South Africa after World War I.
For a reason that remains obscure she only started school in Standard 5 as a boarder at Wyckham College in Pietermaritzburg. She arrived three weeks late, given her surname was “Missing”, the school had already decided that someone was playing a practical joke. She was an outstanding breaststroke swimmer earning provincial colours while at school.
Robinson enrolled at Wits University in the 1950s, and embarked on a pioneering journey to qualify as one of the first woman Quantity Surveyors in the country.
Once qualified, she entered into the building industry, which was very much a man’s preserve. Despite her expertise being often and unjustly questioned, she excelled, demonstrating her proficiency time and again. In doing so she frequently had to accompany builders up multiple ladders to reach inaccessible parts of uncompleted buildings to prove her measurements correct. Her perseverance during an era when gender inequality was rampant significantly contributed to the advancement of women in the workforce.
She married Dan Robinson (BArch 1950) in 1979 and became an invaluable partner in his various pursuits, always embracing and supporting his latest hobby with enthusiasm. This included making lead bullets and weighing gunpowder for his muzzle loading shooting competitions and helping to restore veteran cars.
She learnt to row at the remarkable age of 66 and rowed her first race at the FISA Masters Regatta in Munich in 1998. She won her first medal the next year at the Wemmer Sprint Regatta and then went on to win many more, including medals at several World Rowing Masters Regattas.
She enjoyed clever humour and laughed easily. She never dwelled on things past and had a strong belief in family. She was cheerful to the very end despite the onset of dementia in her later years.
She leaves her sons Craig (BCom 1982, BCom Hons 1983) and Dudley Levieux (BArch 1989), stepdaughters Lucy Graham and Sally Ewins and their families.
Source: The Levieux family
Philip Savage (1921-2024)
Celebrated civil engineer Professor Philip Savage (BSc Eng 1994, MSc Eng 1948) died on 5 August 2024, less than a month before his 103rd birthday.
Born in 1921, with a twin brother, John (BSc Eng 1944), he qualified from Wits with a civil engineering degree as World War II drew to a close. Professor Savage began his professional career at the then Transvaal Road Department and he was encouraged to apply for post graduate studies via a bursary.
He continued to work with various consultants and road contractors earning experience in road building technology, with an emphasis on earthworks construction and geomechanics.
Notable projects to which he contributed include: the road in Central Africa between Kafue and Chirundu in then Northern Rhodesia; the Union Corporation project at Ngodwana in the Elands River Valley between Waterval Boven and Montrose during the late 1950s, as well as the N4 (Pretoria-Bronkhorstspruit) and the S12 (Benoni-Argent) contracts. Professor Savage’s, wife Ann, was diagnosed with cancer and to spend as much time as possible together, she accompanied him on many field and construction inspection trips. She died in the late 1960s, leaving him and two daughters.
In 1970 he was offered and accepted a professorship in geomechanics and road construction at the University of Pretoria in the department of civil engineering. Students enjoyed the anecdotes he related when lecturing theory. He also learned to teach the intricacies of soil mechanics in Afrikaans, despite his home language being English.
After retiring in 1986 he presented lectures and courses in compaction and soil stabilisation for the South African Road Federation and other organisations and acted as a specialist consultant in this field.
In 2021 Professor Savage received the South African Road Federation’s President’s Award for his major contribution to the industry and created a bursary that will be awarded to an engineer who would like to further their studies in road building materials.
Sources: South African Road Federation; Prof Alex Visser (MSc Eng 1974), Paul Nordengen (MSc Eng 1989)
Martin Wittenberg (1962-2024)
The world-class economist and activist who made substantive contributions in the analysis of inequality and labour markets in South Africa, Professor Martin Wittenberg (MCom 1997 cum laude) died on 27 July 2024, after a protracted battle with cancer.
He was former director of Data First, the unit specialising in the dissemination and preservation of data from African socioeconomic surveys, as well as professor in the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town since January 2004. Prior to that he taught at Wits for a decade.
Professor Wittenberg was born in Bethel, Germany, the oldest of four children. His father, Gunter, was a Lutheran scholar and his mother, Monica, a midwife. The family returned to South Africa when Wittenberg was a year old. He excelled in maths and science, becoming the top matriculant in Natal, with a medal in the Maths Olympiad and the Natal Chess Championship.
According to this family, his engagement with reading and discussions on German history during his school years sparked his deep-seated opposition to injustice and oppression.
He started his academic career in 1981 at the University of Natal (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal) in Pietermaritzburg and led the NUSAS branch as well as serving as deputy president of the Student Representative Council.
His fellow activists Faizel Ismail and Kam Chetty recalled: “He shunned the limelight, preferring to work diligently behind the scenes, where he won over many young people in the student movement with his firm and clear articulation of his political views.” Soon after the launch of the United Democratic Front in August 1983, Professor Wittenberg became one of the joint secretaries in the KZN Midlands region. He was detained and his movement restricted. Following the unbanning, he continued as a productive researcher and embarked on his academic teaching career at Wits.
In addition to his master’s in economics, he forged his own path, with majors in philosophy, mathematics and statistics at undergraduate level, a master’s in political science and a doctorate in geography from different institutions. He was consistently passionate about understanding and addressing the root causes of poverty and inequality in South Africa.
From 2010 to 2023, under his leadership, Data First won the National Science and Technology Forum’s Data for Research Award. He made major contributions to advancing data analysis skills in South Africa, most notably through a 10-year partnership with Statistics South Africa.
UCT’s statement read: “He will be remembered for his dedication to rigorous scholarship and integrity as a researcher, the quality and depth of his mentorship of graduate students, his frankness and honesty as a colleague, and his commitment to building public goods that enable others to do better and more reliable research of their own.”
Professor Wittenberg was married to the respected science journalist Christina Scott, who was killed in a car accident in 2011. He is survived by his children Nozipho, Ali and Ben; as well as sisters Inge, Gertrude and Reinhild.
Sources: UCT, IOL, TimesLIVE
Johan Lemmer (1934-2024)
Former Emeritus Professor of Oral Medicine and Periodontology at Wits Professor Johan Lemmer (BDS 1957, HDip Dent in 1961, HDip Oral Hygiene 1974) died on 10 July 2024.
Prof Lemmer has been described as a stalwart of the dental profession who served the University, the South African Dental Association, the Colleges of Medicine and many other professional bodies with distinction. He was a lifelong and honoured academic, especially in the specialist field of oral medicine and periodontology.
At Wits in 1964 Prof Lemmer offered the first postgraduate programme. The students of this postgraduate programme subsequently established the South African Society for Periodontics (SASP) in 1968 and Prof Lemmer was chairperson in 1979 and again in 1983. His contributions were formally acknowledged when the SASP conferred Distinguished Life Membership to him in 1989. The speciality register in Oral Medicine and Periodontics was formally approved in 1972, by the then South African Medical and Dental Council.
He was regarded as an outstanding undergraduate and postgraduate teacher and examined widely in South Africa, and for the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa. He was an active researcher, publishing widely, both nationally and internationally in various medical and dental publications, including a few invited chapters in recognised textbooks. Many of his publications were in association with colleagues. He also, by invitation, lectured in Europe, Wales and Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia). In 2002, the John Lemmer Fellowship was established by The South African Society for Periodontology in his honour.
Prof Lemmer was a creative artist and his lecture notes “were replete with the most beautiful illustrations”. He excelled in photography, was a true lover of classical music. After retiring from the University, Prof Lemmer practised as periodontist and oral medicine specialist, and spent time on his many interests including music, archery and photography until, at the age of 82, he finally retired.
He is survived by his wife Joan (BSc Physiotherapy 1957).
Source: International Dentistry (African edition)
Cedric Bremner (1929-2024)
A global authority on Barrett’s oesophagus and oesophageal cancer, Emeritus Professor Cedric Bremner (MBBCh 1953, MMed 1968), died on 9 July 2024 at the age of 95.
He was the fifth of seven children of James and Ida Bremner and grew up in Rosebank, Johannesburg, matriculating from Parktown Boys High School. After graduating from Wits Medical School, he spent two years in teaching units and proceeded to the United Kingdom to pursue postgraduate surgical training at Hammersmith Hospital in London and St Andrews University in Edinburgh.
He met his wife of 63 years while training and Cynthia (Sally) and he returned to South Africa after his training to begin a family and a career. He worked under the leadership of professors Daniel Du Plessis (MBBCh 1941, LLD honoris causa 1984) and Johannes Myburgh (MMed 1966, DSc honoris causa 1996) and was awarded the degree of Master of Surgery in 1968 for his thesis on the pyloric muscle. In 1968, he received the Michael and Janie Miller Fellowship, which enabled him to spend a year at the Mayo Clinic in the laboratory of Dr CF Code under the direction of Dr Henry Ellis, a giant in the world of oesophageal surgery. During his tenure there he worked on a novel model of gastro-oesophageal reflux in which he proved that Barrett’s oesophagus, the condition characterised by changes in the cells lining the oesophagus, was indeed an acquired and not a congenital disease. His interest in the oesophagus continued throughout his life.
Professor Bremner was a pioneer surgeon in Johannesburg, performing many “firsts”, serving South Africans at the “non-white” hospitals in Johannesburg at the time: Baragwanath, Coronation, and Hillbrow hospitals. He was appointed chief of surgery at Coronation Hospital (now Rahima Moosa) from 1979-1987, and chief of surgery at Hillbrow Hospital from 1987-1992. He started the first oesophageal motility laboratory in Johannesburg, enlisting the nursing assistance of his wife Sally to help run the laboratory, and later his animal research laboratory. Professor Bremner was a prolific writer and researcher, publishing more than 300 peer reviewed manuscripts, commentaries, and book chapters and books. He served on the editorial boards of nine journals, including a tenure of six years for the SA Medical Journal. He was the honorary editor and chairman of the SA Journal of Surgery from 1974-1992.
Upon his retirement from Hillbrow Hospital at age 65, Professor Bremner relocated to Los Angeles, where he ran the USC Esophageal Research Unit and a Trauma and Surgical service at the Los Angeles County Hospital for the next 13 years. He was deeply patriotic, and his recognition of the contribution of South Africa to world medicine is reflected in a book he co-authored with Rochelle Keene and published for Wits University’s centennial: A Century of Achievement: South African contributions to global medicine (Print Matters, 2022). This latter work was the result of a decade of work he pursued after his final retirement.
After returning to South Africa from Southern California, he moved to the retirement community of Amber Valley in Howick, where he became known as “the guy who gives all those talks” as he continued to teach whatever he learned: topics such as “Tea”, “lichens”, and “Joy in the little things”. At the age of 90 he won a public speaking competition in Pietermaritzburg.
Professor Bremner was known for his humility, his exemplary teaching, and his kindness to all. One of his daughters summarised the essence of him: “He was one of those folk who always made you want to be a better person”.
He is survived by his wife Sally, his four children, Ross (BSc 1985, MBBCh 1988, PhD1998), Nicola (BA 1987), Bruce (BSc Building 1989, PGDipPDM 1993), Heidi (BPEd 1993), and his 10 grandchildren.
Source: The Bremner family
Rodney Man (1944-2024)
Former chairman of the Chinese Association of South Africa, Rodney Leong Man (BSc Eng 1965), died on 13 June 2024 at the age of 80. He was a prominent spokesperson for the South African Chinese community, a strategic business thinker as well as a highly respected lecturer.
As one of the early generations of Chinese university graduates in the country, he grew into his leadership role when he and like-minded community members joined forces to resuscitate the Transvaal Chinese Association and form the national representative organisation, the Chinese Association of South Africa during the turbulent 1980s.
He played a significant role in forging business links with China from the 1990s. He was lauded for negotiating with local politicians, while simultaneously juggling the delicate transition of South Africa’s official diplomatic relations from the Republic of China, or Taiwan, (pre 1994) to the People’s Republic of China (post 1994). He convinced many industrialists from Taiwan to invest in South Africa.
Beyond his community leadership, Man had a distinguished professional career, with an MBA from the University of Cape Town. He retired as a business development director for Linde China, contributing to the numerous successful joint ventures and large-scale industrial projects in Asia. He served as a guest lecturer at Wits Business School and as an educator at the London School of Economics, in addition to being an adjunct associate professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he shared his invaluable knowledge with students from diverse backgrounds.
He leaves behind his family: Lynette Gregory and Mia, Caroline and Roger, Thalia and Ru, Tyler and Ashton, Yvonne, Shirleen, Dianne, Darryl, Paulette and Daniel, Robert, Lulu, Dion and Justin.
Source: Chinese Association in Gauteng
Peter Randall (1935-2024)
Anti-apartheid publisher and former professor of education at Wits, Peter Randall (MEd 1981, PhD 1989) died on 5 June 2024. He was born in Durban in 1935 and completed his teacher’s training in 1956, also obtaining a BA through UNISA. Throughout his working years, Randall was a prolific editor and writer.
Randall met his wife, Isobel (née Hickman), at teachers’ training college, and they were married in 1958. They had four children, one of whom died as an infant. The surviving three Randall children are all Wits alumni: Lee-Ann (BSc 1986, PhD 2019), Susan (MA 2006) and David (BA 1994, PDM 1996).
From 1957 to 1961, Randall worked for the Natal Education Department. He and Isobel then moved to the UK, where they worked for Essex County Council for two years before returning to South Africa in 1964. Randall became involved in anti-apartheid politics, and from 1965 to 1969 he was the assistant director at the South African Institute of Race Relations in Johannesburg. From 1969 to 1972 he was the director of the Study Project on Christianity in Apartheid Society (Spro-Cas), and in 1972 he co-founded Ravan Press with Beyers Naudé and Danie van Zyl. Ravan punched above its weight, publishing dissident voices and often attracting state censorship.
In October 1977, Randall and Naude, among others, were served with banning orders. Randall had been employed part-time by Wits as a teacher organiser, but his banning order prevented him from continuing in either the Wits or Ravan roles. Wits applied to the Minister of Justice for permission to employ him full-time and continued to pay his salary. Permission was granted six months later, and in 1978 Randall took up a full-time post at the university, with both administrative and academic responsibilities. He completed an MEd (1981) on the private school system in South Africa and a PhD (1989) on the history of education and teacher training. He continued working at Wits until his retirement in 1995, eventually becoming professor assignatus and director of teacher training.
In 2006, the South African History Archives (SAHA) obtained from the State Archives copies of all documentation on Randall that had been kept by the Bureau of State Security (BOSS) during his years of activism. A set of the files was given to Randall, and another was archived at Wits.
From 1999, Peter and Isobel Randall spent much of their time in the UK, establishing a home and enjoying their retirement. In 2007, they became naturalised British citizens while retaining their South African citizenship. While teaching in Britain in the 1960s, they had picked apples during their school holidays, and they resumed the theme of casual labour on their return to the UK as retirees. They spent a year working as packers in a car-part factory, eventually graduating to the assembly line, and also worked briefly in a nursery, where they “gapped” seedlings, but they found the hothouse more sweltering than Africa. Randall got a job sorting mail during the busy Christmas period and acted as Isobel’s chauffeur during her seven-odd years as a supply teacher in the UK.
Despite his keen intellect, Randall was warm and down-to-earth. He enjoyed being active – even winning a marathon in his late teens – and embodied lifelong learning. His balanced approach to life was certainly one of the reasons for his longevity. He had a meticulous approach to mowing the lawn, ironing the sheets, sweeping the driveway, and polishing the silver. He enjoyed leisurely walks, although in later years he was unable to keep up with Isobel’s small but rapid stride.
Randall celebrated his 66th wedding anniversary in Johannesburg in January 2024. He had become increasingly frail, and on 29 February he was hospitalised after a fall. Underlying issues were diagnosed, and his health gradually deteriorated despite interventions. Isobel seldom left his bedside during his last lengthy inpatient admission.
Randall followed the events leading up to the May 2024 general elections in South Africa with interest. On 2 June, he asked for a summary and was shown the IEC map of the results that were finalised that day, and he remarked on the “tribal loyalties” in his province of birth, KwaZulu-Natal. He passed away three days later, still in hospital, surrounded by family. Details of his publications, political work, and academic achievements are available on Wikipedia at Peter Ralph Randall. He is remembered as a loving husband, caring father and grandfather, and visionary thinker.
Source: Randall family
Bernard Khoza (1968-2024)
One of the cherished members of the Wits Black Law Alumni, Bernard Khoza (BProc 1994, LLB 1998) died after a short illness earlier this year. He was a chronic diabetic, which may have attributed to his sudden passing. Khoza was born in Elim, Limpopo, the third son of William Khoza and Topisa, neé Baloyi, beginning his primary and secondary school education in the local villages. He had a gift for academic pursuits and his education was “wholly financed through his mother’s hustle selling umqombothi”. He pursued law at Wits, with the weight of family and community expectation thrust on his shoulders as soon as he graduated. He spent the entirety of his law career working in the legal department of the Reserve Bank. He was a key activist in the propagation for, and the advocacy of, the equality of the Venda and Tsonga languages. He travelled, on his own account, to parliament in Cape Town to make submissions for this purpose. He is survived by his mother, wife, and three daughters Hlawulekani (BCom 2024), Ntsako and Claire.
Source: Wits Black Law Alumni
Michael Sutton (1928-2024)
The innovative and reclusive architect Michael Sutton (BArch 1956) died on 22 May 2024 at the age of 96. His buildings, which displayed a sensitivity to the conditions around them as well as a modest use of materials, were a timeless signature style during the 1960s and 1970s in Greece and South Africa.
Sutton was born deaf as the youngest son of Royal Air Force pilot William and Dolly Sutton. His older sister, Ann, was deaf too and the family moved to England before the start of World War II to receive the benefit of specialist schools there. Neither sibling learned to sign but understood what was being said if words were enunciated clearly. He completed his schooling at Spring Hill School in Northampton, and recalled: “Ann went to Dene Hollow School, Sussex and then on to Swanley College to graduate in horticulture and landscaping. Our father re-joined the RAF and our mother drove an ambulance during the London Blitz. We all came together on school holidays and in spite of food rationing and bombers overhead, we had a wonderful time wherever my father was stationed with his squadron – Kent, Surrey, Newcastle, Scotland, Devonshire.”
Back in South Africa after the war, after a struggle to matriculate (because of the required Afrikaans), he was accepted at Wits. His father died after their return and an uncle, Sir George Albu, ensured his university bills were paid. Sutton considered his time at the University as “a great experience” because of the help and kindness of fellow students and lecturers, particularly Professor John Fassler, who was one of the main protagonists to spread Modernism in the country.
Prior to his university studies Sutton worked for Steffen Ahrends, who insisted on “honest materials, basic simplicity, and good proportions based on human scale.” These principles remained an enduring influence on Sutton's work.
In 1956 he shared a flat with Tom Russell, then a film and music critic at The Star, who remained his best friend, companion and architectural critic. It was Russell who convinced him to start his own practice in 1961. His first partner was John Griffiths, followed by David Walker who assisted in running the office, leaving him time for design work and time to travel overseas often, including six months in India and Nepal in 1971 and many months in Greece. He was influenced by the Mediterranean and finally settled in Greece around 1974. He owned a traditional Greek Kaiki called Sophia in which he sailed with friends to many of the Aegean islands, absorbing the essence of the architecture and culture.
In 2020 Sutton donated the archive of his South African practice, facilitated by Hannah Le Roux (BArch 1987, MArch 2002), to Wits, which is in the process of being digitised. He also created two bursaries for deaf students to study architecture.
In 2023 the South African Institute for Architects awarded him an honorary membership. His work and life had an indelible impact on numerous Wits-trained architects such as Clive Chipkin (BArch 1955, DArch honoris causa 2013) Mira Fassler Kamstra (BArch 1961), Nina Cohen (BArch 1991) and granddaughter of Professor Fassler, Victoria de la Cour (BAS 2001, BArch PG 2003).
His architectural philosophy is perhaps best stated by Sri Lankan architect, Geoffrey Bawa: “I have always enjoyed seeing buildings but seldom enjoyed explanations about them – as I feel, with others, that architecture cannot be totally explained but must be experienced.”
Sources: Kathy Munro; Artefacts; The Heritage Portal
David Mayne (1930-2024)
Professor David Mayne (BSc Eng 1951, MSc Eng 1956), who made numerous seminal contributions to systems and control science, died on 27 May 2024 at the age of 94. He was based at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London since 1959 and was the former head of its Control and Power Research group.
Professor Mayne was born in 1930 in Germiston and graduated from Wits with an electrical engineering degree in1951. He regarded Professor GR Bozzoli as a mentor. In 1954, at the age of 24 and recently married, he left South Africa to spend two years working as an electrical engineer at British Thomson Houston Company, Rugby, England. At the end of 1956 he returned to his academic post at Wits to develop a new course on automatic control.
In 1959 with his wife Josephine and their three young daughters, he left for London to take up an academic position as lecturer at Imperial College London. He was promoted to reader in 1967, and then to professor in 1971, eventually serving as head of the department from 1984 to 1988, before retiring in 1989, and being appointed as Emeritus Professor in 1996.
Professor Mayne made numerous contributions, but most notable was the development of a rigorous mathematical basis for analysing Model Predictive Control algorithms. Model Predictive Control has been used, and it is currently used, in tens of thousands of applications and is a core part of the advanced control technology in chemical processing, control of driverless cars and many other areas.
Professor Mayne authored over 350 papers and co-authored seminal books on differential dynamic programming, such as "Model Predictive Control: Theory, Computation, and Design," which has been cited 5,600 times. He wrote a notable paper published in “Automatica” that has received 9,900 citations.
His accolades include an honorary Doctor of Technology degree from the University of Lund, an honorary professorship from Beihang University, the Sir Harold Hartley Medal from the Institute of Measurement and Control and the Heaviside Premium (received twice) from the Institution of Electrical Engineers. He was also awarded the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Control Systems Award in 2009 and the International Federation of Automatic Control High Impact Paper Award in 2011. In 2014 he was awarded the Giorgio Quazza Medal, which recognises outstanding lifetime contributions of an engineer to conceptual foundations in the field of systems and control. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the International Federation of Automatic Control.
Over the years, Professor Mayne remained fond of Wits, regularly attending alumni events in the UK and generously donating to his alma mater. Colleagues said of him: “His academic achievements were secondary only to his modesty and gentle personality.”
He is survived by his beloved wife Josephine; his daughters Sue, Máire, and Ruth; and four grandchildren.
Source: Imperial College London
Steven Goldblatt (1957-2024)
Known affectionately as the “pesterer-in-chief ” and one of the early founding members of The Weekly Mail, Steven Goldblatt (BA 1980, LLB 1984) died in May 2024 after an accident while on holiday in Spain at the age of 66. According to Professor Anton Harber (BA 1979, MA 2021), Goldblatt was an occasional photographer and law graduate who arrived one day at the Weekly Mail and “announced that he was working for us… He then proceeded to tell us what was required, who should do it, and how it should be done.” Goldblatt took on the most challenging tasks during the publication’s early days in the late 1980s, which included raising money, securing advertising, finding the cheapest office in Braamfontein as well as recruiting staff. He used innovative techniques such as “nagging, bartering, making unfulfillable promises and using every one of his vast set of connections” (which included the Black Sash and the Market Theatre mailing lists among others).
The vast scope of Goldblatt’s influence emerged during his memorial service: he had been an underground ANC operative, scouting for targets for uMkhonto weSizwe, his then “controller”, Patrick Fitzgerald (BA 1976) said. His behind-the-scenes work with then minister of agriculture and land affairs, Derek Hanekom, saw the negotiating and setting up the R370 million KWV trust for wine industry workers. He was key in drafting precedent-setting class action court victories, including the asbestos litigation that led to a R450 million settlement as well as the silicosis litigation, which led to a R5 billion trust being set up for mineworker victims.
“To recall Steven is to remind myself of the enormous potential for good that lies within us and how far short most of us fall,” Advocate Richard Spoor said of him. Friend and colleague Judge David Unterhalter (LLB 1984) described him as “courageous and bold … he had moral courage about the things that matter in the world. And personal courage in the adversities he was to face.”
He was born on 31 December 1957, son of Lily and David Goldblatt (BCom 1957, DLitt honoris causa 2008). He is survived by his wife Jennifer Hoffmann (MBA 1999), their two sons Daniel and Samuel, his grand-daughter Frieda, his mother Lily and his siblings Brenda (BA 1983) and Rasada.
Sources: Mail & Guardian; SA History Online, Wits archives
Michael Dale (1951-2024)
Professor Michael Dale (LLB 1974) the preeminent law authority on prospecting, mining, exploration and production of minerals and petroleum, died on 23 May 2024 at the age of 72.
The soft-spoken head of Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa’s mineral and petroleum law department provided “unparalleled expertise and guidance to major local and international mining houses as well as mining industry representative bodies.”
He was an Honorary Professor at the Mandela Institute at Wits. He introduced “The Law of Prospecting and Mining” LLB course in 1983. He also lectured extensively in the LLB and LLM programmes, as well as in the Post-Graduate Certificate Course and short courses on Mining Law at the Mandela Institute.
Professor Dale was a prolific author and a co-ordinating author of the seminal book “South African Mineral and Petroleum Law” published by LexisNexis. His scholarly work included co-authoring books on mining legislation and notarial practice, contributing articles to national and international journals, and presenting papers at global conferences on mining law. He was also a long-standing contributor to the “Annual Survey of South African Law”, writing the Mining Law chapter published by Juta.
He was admitted as an attorney, notary public and conveyancer in South Africa and Lesotho, and held the right of appearance in the High Court of South Africa. He was recognised in the Legal500 Hall of Fame, which underscores his enduring impact and legacy in the legal profession.
At the time of his passing, a colleague, Pieter Niehaus, wrote on LinkedIn: “It was always remarkable that he never had to speak louder in any discussion, be it with clients, counsel, or even opponents in a matter, as everyone knew they had to listen, because what he said was important. He was kind, engaging, and generous with his time in passing on his immense knowledge and experience.”
Sources: Norton Fulbright Rose, LinkedIn
Yakub Essack (1962-2024)
Leader of the Gift of the Givers medical team, Dr Yakub Essack (MBBCh 1987), died on 1 May 2024 after suffering a heart attack. Dr Essack was originally from Standerton in Mpumalanga and pursued his tertiary education at Wits during the turbulent 1980s.
He was a family medicine specialist who enjoyed teaching fifth-year medical students in this setting. He co-founded the Newtown Clinical Research Centre in 2004 working there until 2014, and left to join the Gift of the Givers, the largest disaster response non-governmental organisation in Africa.
He embraced the taxing role of team leader on several international missions, driven by a dedication to serving humanity. Gift of the Givers volunteer and neurologist Dr Aayesha Soni (MBBCh 2014) paid tribute to him saying: “a magnanimous man whose willingness to lend a helping hand to those who needed it was consistent in his personal and professional life. He managed to infuse this passion with a gentle and caring nature, making him both responsible and approachable to all those around him. This is a rare trait in a leader. His skill set in being able to assemble a group of medical volunteers and equipment efficiently and at short notice was unmatched."
Sources: Daily Maverick and LinkedIn
Deanna Petherbridge (1939-2024)
Deanna Petherbridge, née Schwartz, (BA FA 1960) who died aged 84 in her London home on 8 January 2024, was described by The Guardian as “the prime example of an artist celebrated within her field but rather less well known outside it”.
Throughout her life she stuck firmly to the single medium of drawing and built a career around it. “I had come from a country with immense poverty and discrimination,” she once said in an interview. “Drawing is a way of thinking visually at a democratic level. It’s the poor person’s way of inventing.”
Although she was small in stature, the scale of her work was “monumental’”. Her work featured urban landscapes, often in pen and ink, characterised by novel perspectives “untethered from gravity”. She was a chronicler of wars, natural disasters, political and economic forces. Her exhibition in 2017, The Destruction of the City of Homs (106cm high by 228cm wide) and The Destruction of Palmyra (each triptych 142cmx122cm) were drawings about the horrors of the conflict in Syria. Most of her work didn’t contain people and was instead a study on what she called “urbicide”. Her book The Primacy of Drawing: Histories and Theories of Practice (Yale University Press, 2010), remains a standard text on the subject.
Petherbridge was born on 11 February 1939 in Pretoria to Frieda and Harry Schwartz, the youngest of three daughters who all graduated from Wits. Her eldest, surviving, sister Claire Lazar (BA Logopedics 1956) remembered that Petherbridge played the piano beautifully as a child and had “an impish personality and was always fiercely independent. Her doodles were magical – and she did it all freehand.”
Petherbridge matriculated from Pretoria Girls High School and was one of only eight graduates who completed a Fine Art degree in 1960 at Wits under the guidance of Professor Heather Martienssen (BArch 1947, BA Hons 1948). She left South Africa in the same year, taking on various jobs ranging from “working on an oil rig to spending a protracted time in India”. In 1967 she acquired a house on the Greek island of Sikinos and divided her time between studio time there and London. It was here that her dual interests in architecture and travel added the geometric elements of Islamic building dimensions to her sketches. “I discovered that pen and ink was more portable and have stuck with it all my life, really,” she said. “Even large drawings like mine can be rolled up and carried over the shoulder.”
After a brief early marriage, she was in a relationship with Guy Petherbridge, whose name she adopted.
She lectured at Reading University and then Middlesex Polytechnic in the 1980s and was appointed professor of drawing at the Royal College of Art in 1995. She launched the Centre for Drawing Research, the first doctoral programme of its kind in the UK. She was an honorary fellow of the Warburg Institute, and research fellow at both Yale University in 2007 and the Getty Center in Los Angeles between 2001 and 2002. In 1996, she was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
She is survived by her sisters Claire and Pamela (BA 1957), and brother Lesley as well as their extended families.
Sources: The Guardian and Lazar family
Edward Webster (1942-2024)
Distinguished sociologist Professor Edward Webster (PhD 1983), fondly known as “Eddie”, died on 5 March 2024 at the age of 81. Three weeks prior to his death, he completed his 200th Parkrun and was known to play squash and swim regularly. Eddie was described as “a perpetual motion machine – a windmill” because of how much he managed to accomplish in a day. On hearing news of his death, tributes poured in from people from all walks of life with anecdotes that demonstrated his curiosity, kindness, and integrity as an academic. He was the professor who used “Sociology Madala” as his social media handle on X.
Eddie grew up in the Eastern Cape, the youngest son of two schoolteachers, Enid and Lionel Webster, who worked in Healdton School near Fort Beaufort and later settled in Durban. At the age of 13 he was sent to boarding school, an experience he described as “rough and often violent”. Other formative experiences included hitchhiking across Europe and the Middle East at the age of 17 and a boat trip back to South Africa along the east coast of Africa.
Eddie went on to complete his undergraduate studies at Rhodes University, where he played rugby and was a member of the National Union of South African Students. After a stint at Unilever and teaching history at a high school in Johannesburg, Eddie completed an MA in politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford and a Bachelor of Philosophy from York University soon after.
Fellow academic Prof Andries Bezuidenhout (PhD 2004) wrote that one insight that defined Eddie’s work and contribution as a scholar was “the understanding that any form of oppression and exploitation can be challenged”. This propelled his actions as scholar-activist.
ln 1976, Eddie joined the Department of Sociology at Wits and remained “at the chalk face at Wits for over forty years”, serving as head of the department for ten years, and providing leadership to transform the curriculum and nurture many young, African scholars. He called for a critical engagement on how social institutions maintain and perpetuate inequality, even casting his critical gaze on Wits itself. In 1986 Eddie led the historic research report Perspectives on Wits, which revealed the disconnect between perceptions disadvantaged people had of Wits and the image the University wished to portray as a progressive opponent of apartheid.
In 1983 Eddie founded the Sociology of Work Project, which was recognised as a strategic asset to the University’s research and developed into an institute. He formally retired from Wits in 2009 but remained an active researcher and author, with countless papers and books, most recently Recasting Workers’ Power: Work and Inequality in the Shadow of the Digital Age (2023, Bristol University Press).
In 2017, Eddie was appointed interim director of the then newly established Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, where from 2019 until 2023 he also served as distinguished research professor. He was regarded as a top sociologist globally and when he was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2017 he said: “Now that I am old, rich in all that I have gained on the way, but not expecting that Wits will give me wealth. Wits has given me a splendid journey, without it I would not have set out. I have acquired such wisdom, so much experience.”
Eddie cultivated a rich circle of friendships and was a devoted family man. He is survived by his wife biographer and historian Luli Callinicos (BA 1964), as well as his children Kimon (BA 1996) and Alexia (BA 2001); and two grandchildren.
Sources: The Conversation, M&G, AfricaIsACountry; Wits archives