It was a sad moment when Mr Xolani Madela walked the graduation stage to accept the degree of Bachelor of the Built Environment in Geomatics, which was awarded posthumously to his late son, Thabiso Madela, at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2024 Autumn Graduation ceremony in Durban on Monday, 20 May 2024.

Thabiso Madela sadly passed on in hospital in January this year, after suffering from a short illness. According to Mr Madela (52) from Lamontville, when his son (22) realised that he was not going to recover from his illness, he had requested him to attend the graduation on his behalf and walk the graduation stage in his honour.

Keeping the promise he made to his son, Mr Madela walked the graduation stage after his son’s name was called from the podium. He was accompanied by a family member onto stage. They were in tears as they graced the stage and saw the big screen showing a photograph of the late Thabiso Madela, when DUT awarded his degree posthumously. The DUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Thandwa Mthembu, briefly engaged with Mr Madela and family and passed his sincere condolences to the family.

“My son, Thabiso passed on earlier this year on 31 January 2024. His illness was strange. He complained about a severe ear ache as if something had entered his ears. It was very painful to us to see him in such pain. We tried to rush him to hospital but he sadly passed on,” shared Mr Madela.

In addition, Mr Madela said that his son had predicted his death. Apparently, while he was in hospital, Thabiso told his father that he predicted that he would not recover. Mr Madela stated that his son told him that the illness was getting severe and that he would soon, pass on.

“Before his death, Thabiso requested that I attend his graduation ceremony to collect his qualification. He pleaded with me to not make a mistake of not attending his graduation. He made me promise that I will attend the graduation on his behalf. Hearing him speak like that was painful but I had hopes that he would recover and attend the graduation himself. He had worked hard to obtain this qualification and it would have been great to see him on that stage bearing the fruits of his sleepless nights. Unfortunately, God had other plans for him,” added Mr Madela.

He described his son as a young man who was loving, caring and dedicated to his academics. At the time of his death he was serving his internship at Toyota South Africa. Mr Madela shared that he was looking forward to seeing his son prosper in the engineering field. 

DUT extended its heartfelt condolences to the Madela family and friends, to the Geomatics Department and to the Faculty of Engineering at the Built Environment. The university wished the family strength, peace and comfort during this challenging time.

Pictured: The Madela family accepting the posthumous award on behalf of the late Thabiso Madela at the DUT 2024 Autumn Graduation.

Photographer: Mnqobi Ngobese.