Although disappointed that he will not be graduating at a coveted ceremony surrounded by family and friends due to Covid-19 restrictions, the oldest undergraduate graduand at the University of Limpopo (UL) says all is not lost.
The 69-year-old retired South African National Defence Force (SANDF) colonel is a living testimony that it is never too late to fulfill one’s aspirations as he expects to graduate for his LLB degree on 6 July 2020. The military veteran says although he may not be in the company of his family , military veterans and the community, he is content that his dream of becoming a lawyer is fast becoming a reality. From the 6th of January 2020, Dhlamini joined Sekati Monyane Incorporated Attorneys as a Candidate Attorney.
He says his next milestone will be to apply for pupillage with the Johannesburg Bar or Pretoria Bar for 2021. “The postponement of graduation due to Covid-19 pandemic is not a big issue for me. Hence, I am continuing with work. The virus has come and will go, but UL will remain and student will get their degrees. Actually, I am impressed by the swift action of the UL management in preventing the spread of Covid-19”, he remarks.
Dhlamini says being a military veteran, he was trained to be patient and to “lie low” when the situation requires one to do so. He enrolled at UL in 2016 as a full-time LLB student relocating from Soweto in Johannesburg to Limpopo. “In the first two years, I passed the majority of the subjects in both semesters and carried one or two to the following year. In my 3rd year, I carried one subject to the 4th year and completed the qualification on record time”, he says.
He describes his student experience as the best years if his revolutionary life, “having fellow students and great lecturers helping me link my prior knowledge with the unknown”. Dhlamini further applauds the transformation at UL and says the struggle of the university’s students from it’s inception to date has slowly transformed it into one of the best universities on the African continent.
“My prayer and wishes are that the UL management build a court simulation facility that will help law students from all levels engage in the practical aspects of the syllabus from entry to exit point.
“Education at UL is best designed to solve African challenges. Being Pan Africanist, the LLB degree will help me empower, educate and transfer legal knowledge to less fortunate African masses (indigent students)”, he envisions.