NHC mourns the passing of Ubuntu Honouree – Prof Muxe Nkondo

The National Heritage Council of South Africa (NHC) mourns the passing of the renowned, selfless, Heritage expert and academic Professor Muxe Gessler Nkondo, who was the recipient of the Ubuntu Honour in the 2022 Golden Shield Heritage Awards.

Professor Muxe Nkondo was bestowed with Ubuntu Honour as a champion of ubuntu values, selflessness, dedication and readiness to serve in the Heritage sector whenever he was requested to even during his retirement. His willingness to serve selflessly all the time, earned him this recognition that was bestowed to people like Tata Nelson Mandela, President Kenneth Kaunda, former United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali, Mirriam Makeba, Winnie Mandela, just to name a few.

Prof MG Nkondo was a heritage thought leader, an avid listener, whose ability to distill the essence of any discursive engagement was almost unparalleled.  He is a co-founder of the Resistance and Liberation Heritage Route initiative, aimed at the celebration and commemoration of the liberation struggle’s unsung heroes and heroines.

He spearheaded the development of the nationally acclaimed Heritage Transformation Charter – a significant contribution and blueprint to guide issues of transformation in heritage management in the cultural landscape in South Africa. Prof Nkondo also made significant contribution to the development of heritage cadreship and of policy-position papers addressing some of the policy gaps in the management of heritage.

He was also part of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems panel, an advisory body appointed by Minister of the Sport, Arts, Culture towards safeguarding living heritage in South Africa. This committee also serves as a review team for the collated information on elements of intangible cultural heritage prior to it being deposited into the National Inventory Office of South Africa (NIO) managed by the NHC.

“A giant tree and indelible repository of knowledge has fallen but not dissipated in the annals of history! This is a great loss to the NHC and the sector. The Council is grateful for the well of wisdom upon which we drew from, underpinned by his unfailing sense of humanity, selflessness and invaluable time that he has lend to the institution the sector at large. Prof will be sorely missed,” said Dr Thabo Manetsi, Chief Executive Officer of the NHC.

The Council sends its condolences to the Nkondo family, colleagues and friends domestically and internationally.