Graduation 2025
UCT marks spring graduation with multilingual thesis orations
12 September 2025 | Story Myolisi Gophe. Photos Lerato Maduna, Robin Thuynsma. Read time 3 min.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) took its transformation efforts to new heights when two doctoral graduates had their thesis titles orated in an African language relevant to their research topics during the spring graduation.
In a historic moment, Msakha Mona and Babalwayashe Molate, both from the School of Education, had their respective titles read in translanguaging, a mixture of English with isiSwati and in isiXhosa, during the Faculty of Humanities’ graduation ceremony on Wednesday afternoon – to rapturous applause and admiration from the audience.
The title of Mona’s thesis is “Indlela le-decolonial yekufinyelela i-curriculum lene bulungiswa besimo sebuntfu? Lucwaningo-sigameko ngesifundvo lesivamile semnyaka wekucala enyuvesi lensha ngemuva kwe-Aparteyti eMzansi Afrika” (Decolonial approach to a socially just curriculum: a case study of a first-year common course in an emerging post-apartheid university in Mzantsi Africa.
The title of Molate’s thesis is “Ukuchasana neenkolelo ezongameleyo malunga nolwimi nelitherasi ngokubonakalisa ubulwimininzi bekhaya nokwakheka kwalo” (Resisting dominant language and literacy ideologies through family multilingualism and the making of ikhaya).
The oration of their thesis titles is another positive step for UCT towards its campus-wide drive to embrace multilingualism following the approval of its new Language Policy by Council in December 2024.
Mona and Molate were among the approximately 2 440 students, including 161 students, who were conferred with their degrees in six ceremonies this week.
Servant leadership
Presiding over the last graduation ceremony, UCT Chancellor Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe called on graduates to ensure that their education enriches not only their lives but also those of others. “Our nation and the world need leaders who listen and empathise, and act with courage. South Africa faces profound inequality, contested histories and questions of identity and belonging. Your knowledge, creativity, and critical thinking skills are invaluable in communities of Khayelitsha, Alexandra, Ekurhuleni, Soweto and right here in Cape Town. I urge you to embrace servant leadership.”
UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mosa Moshabela echoed her sentiments and told graduates that their technical knowledge is important, but in a world that is complex and so volatile, it’s not going to be enough. “We need you to also bring a strong sense of values to what you do – values of compassion, kindness, respect, empathy, integrity and good ethical culture and practice.”
Remarkably, staff members, including the dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Lionel Green-Thompson, were among those who celebrated the completion of their studies, a clear message to encourage continuous learning among academic and support staff. Prof Green-Thompson graduated with a Master of Business Administration.
“Your knowledge, creativity, and critical thinking skills are invaluable in communities of Khayelitsha, Alexandra, Ekurhuleni, Soweto and right here in Cape Town. I urge you to embrace servant leadership.”
And, as has been the case over the years, the university upped its ante to support graduates living with disabilities. The long-awaited official renaming of Jameson Memorial Hall to Sarah Baartman Hall was also done at the last graduation ceremony.
While cheering and ululations were the order of the day, UCT’s South African College of Music (SACM) and Opera UCT, together with the Marimba band and the praise singer, added to the celebrations.
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Spring 2025 Graduation
The University of Cape Town (UCT) hosted graduation ceremonies from Monday, 8 September until Wednesday, 10 September 2025. The ceremonies were livestreamed on the website and UCT’s Facebook page (recommended for mobile devices like cell phones and tablets), and the video recordings will be available on this feature page and UCT’s YouTube channel as soon as possible after the event.
Graduation news
Graduation news
The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Chancellor Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe and Vice-Chancellor Professor Mosa Moshabela urged graduates at the spring graduation to use their education to enrich not only their own lives but also their communities, stressing the importance of values such as compassion, respect, and integrity in a volatile world.
25 Sep 2025
The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) spring graduation was marked by historic milestones, including the awarding of honorary doctorates to four distinguished individuals and the official renaming of Jameson Hall to Sarah Baartman Hall, among other notable highlights.
25 Sep 2025
Inspirational graduates
Our stories: inspirational graduates
The UCT News team has profiled a cross-section of inspirational graduands whose stories have inspired us. To all those we haven’t been able to feature, we’d like to say: each one of you is an inspiration – to your university, your families and your communities. We wish you every success in the future.
Ceremony recordings
Ceremony recordings
Graduation programmes
The names of all of the spring 2025 qualifiers are listed in the graduation ceremony programmes. Congratulations to everyone who has graduated.
We are excited to see our UCT graduates unleash their potential for a fair and just society. Thank you for joining the celebrations on social media by using the #UCTGrad2025 hashtag.
Social media elements#UCTGrad2025 – social media elements
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