Mpumalanga university honours family that forewent claim to land it is built on

Law building named after Shongwe clan patron, Chief Nkhomo Shongwe

- By Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane

The University of Mpumalanga has honoured Chief Nkhomo Shongwe.

A Mpumalanga family that chose to withdraw a land claim to make way for the construction of the province's first university has finally been honoured for their sacrifice.

The University of Mpumalanga (UMP) has named its Law Building after the late Chief Nkhomo Shongwe, whose family’s act of generosity helped transform ancestral land into a hub of education, opportunity and justice.

In 2023, UMP signed a memorandum of understanding with the Emsamo Communal Property Association, committing to immortalise Chief Shongwe’s name on one of its flagship buildings - a promise now fulfilled.

During a moving ceremony at the university’s Mbombela campus over the weekend, the late chief’s family hailed the move as one that should inspire students for generations to come.