Kwenzokuhle Maphumulo

Fellow: Department of Political Studies, MA

My name is Kwenzokuhle Maphumulo, son of the soil of KwaZulu-Natal. I was born and bred in the township of Umlazi, in Durban. It is this township with its unpredictable nature and difficulties that made me who I am today.

I came to Cape Town in 2016 to pursue my undergraduate degree at the University of the Western Cape. My undergraduate majors were Political Studies, Sociology and Philosophy. Striving for holistic growth, I also participated in leadership programmes under the office of Leadership and Social Responsibility. I also volunteered at the office of the HIV/Aids unit. I have also been fortunate to be a Philosophy and Political Studies tutor in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Academically I have also been able to mount a good initiative to give worth to my name. Through hard work, I have received an invite to the Golden Key Honours Society.

I was also chosen as one of the fellows for the 2018 Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF). MMUF was influential in igniting my academic fire. The important skills and knowledge acquired by spending a summer abroad are invaluable. Important to this are the people and adaptation skills that were acquired in the process.

Currently, I am a Master’s student in the Department of Political Studies under the supervision of Professor Joelien Pretorius.