At about 3am on Tuesday one of South Africa’s most prodigious young talents was murdered at home, the killers leaving a gaping hole in his head. Evidence suggests the security wiring around the house was cut and that some personal items were missing. Ours is a murderous nation, but something changed deeply inside me with the tragic passing of Sinoxolo Gcilitshana; the trajectory of his short life is incredulous.
When a matric history examiner told me about a student at Oscar Mpetha High School who received nearly 100% in history, I had ample reason to doubt that achievement. It was a dysfunctional school near a dangerous taxi rank in Nyanga, Cape Town, where several students lost their lives over the years. Just passing matric at this school with minimum marks was an achievement; getting an almost perfect score in history was clearly impossible.
I was wrong. An inquiry from my office confirmed the result and so I set out to find this talented young pupil who, despite his circumstances, achieved so much. I scoured Facebook and eventually tracked down Sinoxolo. What are you plans for university? No, professor, I am on my way to Golden Arrow to become a bus driver.
Within minutes I persuaded Sinoxolo to pack for Bloemfontein and offered him a full bursary that would cover his costs for whatever degree he wished to pursue. Of course, he chose to become a history teacher. His journey towards qualification was remarkable.
Sinoxolo confided that he did not speak much English at the time and that as a first-generation student he found the university intimidating. One day he sat in my office determined to return to Cape Town, ostensibly to take care of his mother and sister who lived alone in a shack after the father left home. I tried to persuade him to stay, knowing he would forever lose the opportunity to obtain a degree and a good job to lift the family out of poverty. I even called his mother who worked at the Cape Town airport: keep him there, she agreed.
The rest is, well, history. Sinoxolo rose to become the head of the prestigious Khayalami men’s residence at the University of the Free State (UFS). His confidence grew, as did his ambition. Everyone he knew was told he planned to become vice-chancellor of Johannesburg’s Wits University. I teased him to aim higher: why not the UFS!
One day I received a call from distinguished literature professor and former vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town (UCT) Professor Njabulo Ndebele. He was blown away by Sinoxolo and wanted me to know that the talented young man had been selected to become a Mandela Rhodes Fellow. We were ecstatic.
I tried to persuade him to stay, knowing he would forever lose the opportunity to get a degree and a good job to lift the family out of poverty.
Sinoxolo went on to teach English at a high school in Pretoria. Not a day or week passed without him posting uplifting pics and messages about his class or his principal or his speeches at the school. I have never met anyone so absolutely passionate about his teaching and so optimistic about his students. He knew that as his life was changed because of a Zimbabwean history teacher, so he too could change the destinies of his charges in a township school on the edge of Pretoria.
Just last week Sinoxolo sent me a WhatsApp message in unusually formal language: “Kindly advise if it would be possible to have dinner with you and my daughter this December post-Christmas. I really want her to know who made it possible for me to be here.”
I answered immediately: “Of course. Call me when ready. Would be an honour.”
My heart is broken as I think of this mentee who became my mentor, teaching me three precious things about how to live a meaningful life.
One, live your life to the fullest for it can be taken at any time. Two, live a life of gratitude, always remembering those who helped you along the way. Three, live your life for others so they in turn benefit from the grace given to you.
Sinoxolo had his little girl with a fellow UFS student. The couple separated soon after, but Sinoxolo doted on his daughter and shared many moments between them on social media. I cannot imagine what this precious little girl must be thinking as she gradually comes to process the knowledge that her father will never come home again.
One thing I will do, when she is old enough, is tell her about a young man who defied the odds, who brought so much light into the world and whose daughter was always at the centre of his universe.
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