President Cyril Ramaphosa is mourning the loss of well-known academic and heritage expert Prof Muxe Nkondo after the news of his death on Sunday.
Nkondo died in the early hours of Sunday. News of his death was confirmed by his family in a statement. He was 83.
“The Nkondo family is sad to announce the death of Prof Nkondo, academic, public policy practitioner and cultural leader, who made a profound difference to many areas of South African life.
“He was committed to helping communities, the environment, education and above all, the arts. Nkondo was an extraordinary person and his loss will be felt by many. The family is committed to continuing his legacy.”
He is survived by his wife and fellow academic Prof Olga Nkondo; his children Ntsako, Muxe, Mikateko, Zava, Mbonya and Nkenyezi; grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Detailing his background, Ramaphosa said: “Prof Nkondo was a former vice-chancellor of the University of Venda, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of the North and Harvard Andrew Mellon Fellow in English.
“As the chair of varied expert panels and reference groups, he made significant contributions to the development of public policy in areas from tourism, human settlements and public administration to science and technology, and arts and culture.
“He lectured extensively at universities in the US and served as a curriculum development and governance adviser to the University of SA, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Tshwane University of Technology, Central University of Technology and Walter Sisulu University.”