On Thursday 23 April the Rhodes University Kimberley East residence known as House 7 was officially named Chris Hani House at a ceremony addressed by Ms Lindiwe Hani.

Kimberley Hall was split into an East and West division at the end of 2007 in order to facilitate the incorporation of two new residences, Kimberley East 7 and Kimberley West 8 respectively.

Kimberley East Hall Warden, Michael Naidoo and his House Committee, recognised that the forming of a new culture and identity reflective of the diversity at the hall, and the aspirations and vision of its inhabitants has a direct bearing on such aspects as discipline, leadership, respect, shared values and a sense of community.

Unequivocal support was given to the reccommendation that the residence take the name of Chris Hani. As leader of the South African Communist Pary and Chief of Staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe (the military wing of the African National Congress during the exile years), Hani’s life epitomised the all-encompassing transformation of the South African society, a core of the liberation struggle for many years. His life and political work, expressed often in fierce battles for justice and human rights that are the cornerstones of South Africa’s Constitutional order, informed in many respects the country’s current political dispensation.

The Rhodes University Naming Task Team recommends that “All new names…be in fundamental accord with the ‘Vision and Mission Statement’ of the University.” This applies particularly with reference to the university’s commitment: “to develop shared values that embrace basic human and civil rights; and to acknowledge and be sensitive to the problems created by the legacy of apartheid, to reject all forms of unfair discrimination and to ensure that appropriate corrective measures are employed to redress past imbalances.”

“We as residents of Kimberley 7 feel strongly that what Chris Hani stood for and the values he upheld are worthy of emulation. His life and his death, his beliefs and his deeds, serve as an enormous inspiration to the young minds in our residence. We would in our everyday life like to remember and honour his legacy,” say members of the House Committee.

A second recommendation of the Naming Task Team is that: “All new names must be compatible with the founding values of our society, as evidenced in the country’s Constitution. These include human dignity; the achievement of equality; the advancement of human rights and freedoms; non-racialism and non-sexism; accountability, responsiveness and openness.”

That we have a Constitution billed as progressive and guaranteeing these rights and freedoms is largely due to Hani’s work, his contemporaries and his comrades. At a time when the movement was largely centred on men, Hani was one of the earlier voices to call for the emanicpation of women and for them to be regarded as equals within the liberation movement, according to the House Committee.

Finally, in terms of the Naming Task Team, given “the university’s commitment to act to redress past imbalances and the predominance on campus of names associated with the politics and culture of minority ruling classes of years gone by, it was agreed that in future every effort should be made to choose names that reflect more fully Rhodes University’s location in Africa, and more particularly in the Eastern Cape.”?

“Hani originated from Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape and, and as we move towards consolidating Rhodes as an institution of choice for black Eastern Cape matriculants, such a role model as Hani aptly embodies what a Rhodes degree aspires to achieve in the greater context of national imperatives, nation building and critical citizens.

“Chris Hani House affords Rhodes an opportunity to symbolise those values of equality, dignity and the realisation of basic human and civil rights in the memory of one of South Africa’s’ inspirational leaders,” conclude the House Committee in its statement.

Picture by: Sean Messham

Picture Caption: Lindiwe Hani, daughter of Chris Hani, leader of the Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe during apartheid, doing a speech during opening of the new Chris Hani Hall on Thursday, 23 April, 2009

Issued by Rhodes Communications