Stellenbosch names varsity building after HIV activist Simon Nkoli

Equal opportunity for those living with HIV/Aids is at the heart of the newly named Simon Nkoli House at Stellenbosch University.

Nkoli was a gay rights and anti-apartheid activist who died of an Aids-related illness in 1998‚ aged 41. He was a founding member of the Gay and Lesbian Organisation of Witwatersrand (Glow)‚ which organised the first gay pride march in Johannesburg in 1990.

Stellenbosch student representative council president Lwando Nkamisa said Friday’s renaming of the Centre for Student Counselling and Development would raise awareness about the need to create equal opportunity for people living with HIV/Aids.

“Nkoli wrote to the government about the rollout of anti-retrovirals. He was young and a struggle hero with HIV/Aids who was also part of a university community [at Wits]‚” he said.

Nkamisa said Nkoli’s involvement in an educational institution made him more relatable to students than other struggle heroes. “In naming the building after an HIV/Aids activist we hope that people will realise that our community has HIV-positive members who deserve equal treatment.”

Simon Nkoli House is home to the university equality and disability units.