Cape Town - Ululating filled the newly re-named Sarah Baartman Hall on UCT campus as Vice Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng, spoke to the first group to graduate in the transformed hall.
The previously named Jameson memorial hall was alive with celebration as Phakeng made the renaming announcement at her robing ceremony.
“Council made the historic decision to rename Memorial Hall after Khoi heroine Sarah Baartman. In this way, we hope to honour her memory and restore to her name the dignity that was so brutally stolen from her in the 19th century.
“With Sarah Baartman Hall at the heart of our campus, we are taking a key step in the university’s commitment to transformation and inclusivity. While we cannot undo the wrongs she suffered, we can lift her up as a potent symbol of the new campus community we are building,” said Phakeng.
Phakeng who has been in office for 165 days was praised for her efforts in transformation and opting for a modest robing ceremony, to ensure that additional funds allocated for her ceremony would be used to assist those unable to graduate.