On Monday 31st of March 2025 Kingswood welcomed the Mrwetyana family, National Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube and the Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation to our annual Uyinene Mrwetyana Commemorative Lecture.

Today, the Honourable Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube gave a thought-provoking and moving address to dignitaries, staff, pupils of Kingswood College and the broader Makhanda community. Her keynote address was titled, “Re-imagining safety: developing the boy child as a catalyst for change”.

The minister spoke about the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV). She urged women and girls to stand up, and take up space in spaces previously reserved for men. She reminded the audience that this, was the South Africa that Uyinene (OK 2018) believed in, before her life was tragically, and despicably cut short.

“We cannot simply be angry. But we must let our anger fuel us into action”.

Minister Gwarube went on to prompt men, parents of boys, schools and institutions to encourage young men to hold each other accountable and to create environments where women can feel safe. “We cannot simply be angry. But we must let our anger fuel us into action”. She emphasized the importance of bringing the boy child into the conversation – thus changing the culture of violence in our country.

On 24 August 2019, Uyinene Mrwetyana (OK 2018) fell victim to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and was brutally murdered. Her loss was felt deeply within the Kingswood and Makhanda communities, but it was South Africa that responded. The brutality of her killing led to widespread outrage in South Africa, sparking marches across the country under the banner hashtag#AmINext and igniting a movement highlighting the scourge of gender-based violence in the country.

Minister Gwarube ended her address by paying tribute to the brutality and tragedy surrounding Uyinene’s death. But she also encouraged the pupils of Kingswood to see the power her death holds; “I hope that stories like these are not ones that make you feel shackled with fear, but that they spur you to say that in the memory of somebody once like me, who walked the halls of this school – ‘I am going to make sure that I make a difference‘”.

We take this opportunity to thank the Minister Gwarube for her incredibly powerful address, and we trust that her call to change will reverberate far beyond our walls. Thank you for making the time to be with us!

Thank you to the Mrwetyana family and friends, the Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation and our invited guests for joining us and supporting us on this journey.