Dr Kwanele Mkhize should have been there when his name was called at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) graduation on Thursday — but he wasn’t.
The passionate plant scientist was shot dead by an unknown gunman outside a school in Pietermaritzburg less than two months ago.
He had been dropping off his sister and her children at the school where she worked.
Mkhize was honoured with a posthumous doctorate in biology from UKZN, the culmination of 12 years of study, from undergraduate through to his postgraduate studies. His brother, Sboniso Mkhize, uncle Siza Mkhize, aunt Rita Mkhize and sister-in-law Londeka Ntanzi attended the graduation ceremony to honour Kwanele’s memory and celebrate him.
“His achievement reflected his inner passion and his incredible intelligence as well as his dedication to his studies,” said Mkhize’s sister Khangisile Mkhize.
She recalled her brother leaving a family New Year gathering to edit his thesis.
“He put blood and sweat into his degree, and we are beyond proud of him for leaving a good legacy. Kwanele’s achievement of obtaining a PhD had us all elated; words cannot describe the amount of joy and respect we have for him as he is the first person to achieve such outstanding results and become the first doctor in his family.”
His brother Sboniso said the family was struggling to come to terms with Kwanele’s death. “We feel a big gap, we are hurting. He was like a magnet — pulling the family together whenever he was around. He was the last-born of our family, and yet he was more like the eldest who always found a way to take care of all of us.
“Kwanele was a very good person and was loved dearly by his family and community.”
He echoed his sister’s words. “Kwanele was always studying, whenever you looked for Kwanele you’d most likely find him buried in his books or with his computer.
“He had big dreams to own a farm one day as he loved animals and plants and would choose the rural and farm life over the city any day,” he said.
He said his brother was inspired by their late father, Muntuyeza Mkhize, whose intellectual nature and distinguished nursing career motivated him to “work hard and strive to achieve his best”.
“Kwanele’s resilience was tested at the time of our father’s passing in 2012 when he was completing matric exams. We were nervous as a family about how Kwanele would get through his exams at the time as he was extremely close to our father, but he persevered and made it to university.”
He said he had joked with his brother about boasting to relatives about his graduation. “We joked that I’d change Kwanele’s title on my phone to Dr Kwanele Mkhize and we’d visit my grandad’s home in Ixopo and brag about the PhD to our relatives and the community. I loved my brother so much, I wanted to celebrate this day with him.”
Mkhize’s uncle, Siza, said the family was battling to come to terms with his death. “It’s hard to sleep at night and we find ourselves thinking about him all day as well. Attending his graduation ceremony is so difficult for us, but we had to do it so that he will know we were there. We are proud that at last we have a doctor in the family.
His thesis yielded four publications, earning him high praise from external examiners. He hoped to continue a research career and approached his studies positively, striking a balance in time shared with family, friends and church commitments
— Prof Richard Beckett
“Kwanele was humble and somebody with a bright future, he never got up to mischief on the streets and was always at home studying. He was a good example for us as a family,” he said.
UKZN said academic staff praised Mkhize for his steady work in improving himself during his studies, while his colleagues described him as ambitious and goal-orientated.
“He completed his undergraduate and honours degrees in biological sciences, moving on to his master’s in Prof Richard Beckett’s research group in botany.
“He investigated the roles of reactive oxygen species scavenging enzymes and abscisic acid in desiccation tolerance in ferns, exploring drought tolerance mechanisms in these lower, simple plants that could be transferred to higher plants, including crops, to improve drought stress tolerance.”
This research, which he hoped would contribute to the scientific and broader community, earned him a cum laude result in 2019. Mkhize continued with his doctoral studies on the stress physiology of lower plants, supported by a German Academic Exchange Service bursary, spending time in Germany doing research.
“He completed the experimental work for his thesis at the end of 2022, before joining an internship programme at the South African National Biodiversity Institute in Pretoria while writing up his PhD,” the institution said.
Beckett said Mkhize would be remembered for his pleasant, easy-going personality and noted his popularity with students over the years.
“His thesis yielded four publications, earning him high praise from external examiners. He hoped to continue a research career and approached his studies positively, striking a balance in time shared with family, friends and church commitments.”
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