In 1924, Zachariah Keodirelang “ZK” Matthews made history as the first graduate of the University of Fort Hare (UFH). To honour his centenary graduation, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, UFH Vice-Chancellor and Principal, has declared 2024 as the “Year of ZK Matthews” at Fort Hare.

The University has organized a series of events in commemoration of this significant milestone. Among these was a public lecture delivered by Professor Malegapuru Mampokoro (Poki) William Makgoba, a distinguished South African immunologist, physician, public health advocate, and academic.

Themed “Achieving the impossible through seeing the invisible,” the public lecture is particularly poignant as the nation celebrates 30 years of democracy, a milestone once deemed impossible to achieve before 1994.