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(Dr) Colbert Mukwevho.

Honorary doctorate for Colbert Mukwevho

 

Persistent calls by the community for legendary musician Colbert Mukwevho to be honoured were finally answered when he received an honorary PhD at the University of Venda (Univen) last Friday.

On Friday, the university's auditorium erupted into thunderous applause when the reggae icon was called to the podium to receive his honour.

This was during the university’s September graduation ceremony.

The veteran musician received an honorary doctorate in arts and social sciences. During the same event, the musician with more than 200 songs and 20 albums under his belt, gave a taste of the songs that had made him very popular.

He left his fans, who were mostly academics and parents of graduates, eating out of his hands when his band dished up two popular songs from his previous albums.

Mukwevho's conferment followed cries from the community, among the voices that of Chief Ntikedzeni, who spearheaded the campaign to have him honoured. He blamed institutions of higher learning for overlooking local artists and waiting for them to pass away to honour them.

Mukwevho joins the likes of top Xitsonga musician Thomas Chauke and the king of kiba music, the late Phillip Tabane, among others, who have been honoured by the university.

During the same ceremony, more than 500 successful students received degrees and diplomas.

Born into a musical family in 1965, Mukwevho joined his father's and uncle's band The Thrilling Artists in 1975. He started off as a backing singer and later became a bassist and the lead singer.

He is a producer and musician of note who sings most of his songs in Tshivenda, as well as in Xitsonga and English. He sings about topicalmatters that affect people in their day-to-day lives. His music is at the forefront of uplifting the language, culture and tradition of the Vhavenda people while, at the same time, being of protest in nature. It is loved locally and internationally.

He sings about social ills such as HIV/Aids, gender equity, women abuse, fights in families, politics, religion and prophesy. He also encourages people to be ready for the end of the world.

To cement his stature in music, some of his songs were recorded in Jamaica.

In his acceptance speech, Mukwevho said he was humbled by the honour and urged the students and to youth to hold on to their dreams. He said as an artist he was just doing his work, not knowing that people were watching him.

The university's chancellor, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, said he was excited by the effort the university was making in developing the region. "Your achievements will make a big difference in your communities and the country as a whole, but please always remember that yours is but a journey that has just begun," he told the students.

During the same event, Prof Richard Littleton from the University of Virginia also received an honorary PhD in public health.

News - Date: 28 September 2018

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In line with his calling, (Dr) Colbert Mukwevho could not resist the temptation to perform before the full-to-capacity auditorium.

Legendary musician Colbert Mukwevho receives his honourary PhD.

 

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Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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