Unisa online - Mama Africa commemorated

Cameras flashed and media buzzed in an electric atmosphere as members of the diplomatic corps, family, friends and admirers gathered to pay tribute to Dr Zenzile Miriam Makeba --- singer, composer, actress, humanitarian, activist and ambassador --- at the opening of Unisa's newly renovated Dr Miriam Makeba Concert Hall on 6 March 2009.

The Soshanguve Youth Symphony Orchestra is a project of the Unisa Music Foundation

Yvonne Chaka Chaka sings the songs of Miriam Makeba

Ms Chaka Chaka was even able to entice Mr John Roos, Prof David Mosoma, Prof Mandla Makhanya & Dr Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane to the stage to show off their dancing skills

Following the Soshanguve Youth Orchestra, whose pizzicato cellos and trumpet glissandos soulfully rendered an arrangement of Makeba songs, Prof Barney Pityana, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, thanked the family of Dr Makeba, represented on the occasion by her grandson, Mr Nelson Lumumba Lee, for entrusting Unisa with her legacy. "We undertake to you in return that this will be a place that will always be the pride of the city and this university, and that will always reverberate to the memory of a great entertainer, a great mother of this continent, and a great philanthropist and humanitarian."

The "Princess of Africa", Ms Yvonne Chaka Chaka, paid musical tribute to the "Queen of Africa" and the familiar rhythms of Qongqothwane (the Click song), A Luta Contínua, Pata Pata and Malaika drove the audience to their feet in joyous celebration of the woman who had brought such joy to so many.

Speaking on the refurbished auditorium on behalf of the Unisa Council Chairperson, Dr Mathews Phosa, Dr Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane, Deputy Chairperson, said that Unisa was extremely proud of the growth and development at the university. "Indeed, there are not many universities today that can boast of an estimated R2,8 billion infrastructure development plan over the next few years, at a time of financial instability worldwide," she enthused. "It speaks to an institution that is visionary, well planned and well managed."

Unisa has spent R11 million to renovate the concert hall, which can now be used for music concerts, multimedia lectures, recordings, workshops and conferences. In terms of acoustic requirements, the Dr Miriam Makeba Concert Hall is a state-of-the-art music platform. The acoustic requirements were handled by one of the top acoustic engineers in South Africa, Dr Ben van Zyl.

Miriam Makeba

Exiled through apartheid from her country of birth, the life of Miriam Makeba was not always easy. Nevertheless, Mama Africa had a number of remarkable firsts. She was the first

• African woman to hit the US Top 10
• South African woman to receive the French Commandeur des Artes et Lettres
• African woman to have a day named after her in the USA (Miriam Makeba Day in Los Angeles)

"Mazi", as she was affectionately known by those who knew her well, never shied from speaking her mind and standing for her beliefs. She was an outstanding South African, and indeed a gracious and true citizen of the world.

On 15 November 2002, Unisa honoured this courageous and talented woman by awarding her an Honorary Doctorate in Literature and Philosophy, recognising the contributions she had made to music, her community and to Africa.

It was fitting that her last moments were spent on stage. While she was alive she would say, "I will sing until the last day of my life," and she collapsed on stage in Italy in November 2008, after singing Pata Pata. Her grandson, Nelson Lumumba Lee, was with her, as well as her long-time friend, Italian promoter Roberto Meglioli, both of whom were at the Unisa ceremony.