Business leader and former political activist Sakumzi “Saki” Macozoma has been appointed the next chancellor of iYunivesithi Walter Sisulu, becoming the first man to hold the position since the university’s formation in 2005.
He will succeed Dr Nonkululeko Gobodo, who has served since May 2023.
Macozoma is due to take office on April 1, 2027, and preside over graduation ceremonies the following month.
Council chair Prof Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said the appointment was unanimously approved at a meeting on October 27.
“It is a singular honour to announce the unanimous decision of the Council at its meeting of 27 October 2026 to approve the nomination of Mr Sakumzi ‘Saki’ Macozoma as the next chancellor of iYunivesithi Walter Sisulu,” he said.
Ngcukaitobi said the university expected Macozoma to use his business relationships and experience in higher education governance to help strengthen the institution.
“The last five years were about the completion of the merger, rationalising programmes and the university into a unitary institution. The next five years are about the consolidation of our position into a premier institution that grants access to underprivileged students from rural communities, teaches relevant programmes, and produces cutting-edge and futuristic research output.
“But we operate in a tough environment of declining state support and general collapse of good governance.”
He said Macozoma could help open doors, support entrepreneurship programmes and improve the university’s financial sustainability.
“Given his background, we expect him to become more than a titular Chancellor, but to become an activist and transformational chancellor,” Ngcukaitobi said.
Macozoma’s career spans business, public service and higher education governance.
He chairs Safika Holdings, Tshipi é Ntle, Ntsimbintle Mining and the Vodacom Group. His previous roles include chair of Liberty Life Holdings and the MTN Group, deputy chair of the Standard Bank Group and president of Business Leadership SA.
He is also a former Volkswagen SA board member.
In public service, Macozoma served as managing director of Transnet and chaired parliament’s portfolio committee on communications during the early years of democracy. He was a prominent student activist during the 1976 uprisings.
His higher education experience includes serving on the Council on Higher Education and as deputy chair and chair of the Wits University council.
He is also patron of the Boy Scouts of SA and the Key School of Autism, which supports children with autism.
The university council said this combination of business leadership and university governance experience made him well suited to serve the institution, which has campuses in Mthatha, Butterworth, Buffalo City and Komani.
Ngcukaitobi said Macozoma would also support the university’s focus on good governance and accountability in teaching and research.
“Mr Macozoma embodies the values of Walter Sisulu, the selfless and dedicated leader of the people of South Africa, and will be a great ambassador for the university as we consolidate our national and global standing as an institution defined by accessibility, authenticity, and excellence,” he said.
The council paid tribute to Gobodo for her contribution during the university’s transition and consolidation.
“The Council wishes to sincerely thank Dr Nonkululeko Gobodo for assuming the responsibility of chancellor during an important phase of WSU. She fulfilled her functions with wisdom, humility and grace,” Ngcukaitobi said.
Gobodo became the university’s first chancellor drawn from its alumni. She qualified as SA’s first black woman chartered accountant in 1987, having started her career as a junior lecturer at the former University of Transkei in 1984.
She succeeded Sheila Sisulu, Walter Sisulu’s daughter-in-law, who served from 2015 to 2023. The university’s founding chancellor, Dr Brigalia Bam, served from 2005 to 2015.
WSU was established in 2005 through the merger of the University of Transkei, Border Technikon and Eastern Cape Technikon, and was named after the liberation struggle stalwart.
