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Unisa PhD graduate rises with dignity, and proudly lives with equity
Dr La-Portia Mahlangu-Matjila
As Unisa celebrates inclusion and equality for all its students and staff during Disability Rights Awareness Month, the journey of Dr La-Portia Mahlangu-Matjila is a testament to the fact that the combination of resilience, determination and unwavering support allows people living with disabilities to reach academic heights at the university.
From being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease to achieving academic excellence, Dr La-Portia Mahlangu-Matjila, Deputy Director: Postgraduate Studies in the College of Graduate Studies, is living proof that with resilience and determination, it is possible to study and obtain the highest academic qualification at Unisa.
In February 2019, Mahlangu-Matjila was diagnosed with polymyositis, an autoimmune disease that causes progressive paralysis. The doctors treating her predicted that she was left with only three months to live, which led to her also being diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and suffering a stroke.
Mahlangu-Matjila was conferred with a PhD in Public Administration on 20 October 2025 at the Unisa Muckleneuk Campus, through the College of Economic and Management Sciences. Her research topic was “A perceived effect of remote working on performance management at an Open Distance eLearning Institution of Higher Learning”.
Despite her condition, Mahlangu-Matjila refused to accept defeat and vowed to conquer the disease through her strong faith in God. For three years, she went through rehabilitation during which she was taught how to live with her disability. During this trying time, Unisa, her employer of 28 years, offered her unwavering support.
She was assigned to Christabell Tholiwe Lamola, an Employment Equity Specialist from the Disability Desk in the Department of Leadership and Transformation, as part of the university’s support for her rehabilitation process. In the meantime, the university allowed her to return to work, applying the principle of “reasonable accommodation”.
Notably, the disease did not affect her brain, and she was able to continue with her studies. “With the use of ‘ability assist gadgets’, I registered for a master’s degree, which I obtained in 2021,” she says.
Mahlangu-Matjila’s PhD journey began in 2022, and despite learning how to live with her paralysis, more health challenges appeared in the form of cancer. “Due to these health challenges, I did not plan for tomorrow, but I planned my days every morning because I did not know how I would feel the next day,” she says.
During her journey to attaining her doctoral degree and accepting her disability, she lost her parents and her eldest son, and friends started abandoning her. “When I reflect on the impact of what I went through, I feel honoured and humbled to have achieved this qualification,” says Mahlangu-Matjila. “Through it all and against all odds, my faith, belief, courage, and determination drove me.”
Mahlangu-Matjila’s plans include working with and sharing her experiences as a student living with a disability and illness, advising students on how to cope in the academic environment. She will focus especially on counselling postgraduate students on how to overcome challenges in their jobs and relationships, and how to ensure that they meet their academic deadlines.
* Submitted by the Department of Leadership and Transformation, and packaged by Tshidiso Madiseng and Victor Malatji, Department of Institutional Development
Publish date: 2025/11/17
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