GRADUATION CEREMONY
Date: 13 July 2026
Time: 09:30
Venue: The Great Hall
A MESSAGE TO GRADUATES FROM THE CHANCELLOR
Dear Doctoral Graduands,
A hearty congratulations to you on attaining the degree of Doctor of Philosophy — the highest academic qualification awarded by this University. This achievement represents far more than the completion of a programme of study. It is the culmination of years of sustained intellectual labour, critical inquiry, and resilience in the face of uncertainty. You have joined a global community of scholars entrusted with the creation, preservation, and ethical application of knowledge.
Today, we also acknowledge with deep appreciation the families, partners, friends, and loved ones who stood beside you through long hours of research, moments of doubt, and periods of sacrifice. Their support sustained you when the path was demanding and the destination uncertain. We also honour the supervisors, mentors, examiners, and professional staff, whose scholarly rigour, guidance, and commitment to excellence made this achievement possible.
You graduate in 2026 at a time of profound global challenge and transition, ranging from the effects of climate change, intensifying water scarcity, food insecurity, and environmental risk. Economic uncertainty persists amid geopolitical tensions and uneven development, while rapid advances in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and digital systems are reshaping how knowledge is generated, communicated, and used. At the same time, trust in institutions — including science, governance, and higher education — is being tested, placing renewed responsibility on scholars to uphold integrity, evidence, and ethical leadership.
In South Africa, these global pressures intersect with long-standing local challenges. High levels of unemployment, deep inequality, and the enduring legacy of historical injustice continue to constrain opportunity and social cohesion. Energy insecurity, strain on public infrastructure, and unequal access to quality education and healthcare remain urgent concerns. Yet, this context is not without hope. There is growing recognition that research, innovation, and skilled human capital are central to national renewal.
As Wits PhD graduates, your role in this context is distinctive. Since its founding, this University has stood for academic excellence, critical inquiry, and social responsibility. Wits scholars have consistently challenged injustice, defended academic freedom, and contributed knowledge that speaks to both local and global concerns. You now inherit that tradition.
In a world saturated with information, your capacity for depth, nuance, and methodological integrity matters profoundly. South Africa needs scholars who are globally engaged yet locally grounded — researchers who understand our social realities, who are committed to transformation and equity, and who place their expertise in service of the public good. You will be called upon to teach and mentor, to build institutions, to innovate responsibly, and to defend the value of evidence and reason in the public sphere.
You have reached a summit — but scholarship is not an endpoint. It is a lifelong commitment to inquiry, learning, and service. The challenges ahead are real, but so too is the power of informed, ethical, and engaged research to shape a more just, sustainable, and thoughtful world.
Congratulations! HALALA!
Dr Judy Dlamini Chancellor
Wits for Good is about serving for Greater Good with Humility and Integrity, Always!
A MESSAGE TO GRADUATES FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR AND PRINCIPAL
Dear Wits Graduate,
Congratulations on the successful completion of your academic programme at the University of the Witwatersrand. Today marks an important milestone in your personal journey and in the continuing history of this institution.
You now join a global community of more than 200,000 Wits alumni whose contributions span science and medicine, engineering and the built environment, business and law, the humanities, and public life. It is a community defined not only by individual achievement, but by sustained impact across generations.
For more than a century, Wits has been recognised as one of Africa’s leading universities and a globally respected centre of learning, research, and innovation. What distinguishes Wits is not excellence in a single discipline, but the consistent production of graduates of distinction across all five faculties, grounded in intellectual rigour, critical inquiry, and public purpose.
The University has played a defining role in advancing knowledge in medicine, public health, mining and earth sciences, and the basic sciences, shaping policy, industry, and scholarship in South Africa and beyond. Its contributions to palaeoanthropology and human origins research have transformed global understanding of humanity itself, while its strengths in mathematics and physics continue to drive discovery at the frontiers of knowledge.
In parallel with these foundational strengths, Wits is building capacity in frontier fields, shaping the next phase of scientific and technological change. Through the Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute, the University is advancing interdisciplinary research in artificial intelligence, drawing on expertise across the computational sciences, neuroscience, the humanities, and policy, while engaging critically with its ethical and societal implications. Alongside this work, Wits contributes to South Africa’s quantum science and technology agenda as a node of the South African Quantum Technology Initiative, advancing research in quantum communication, imaging, and computing, and training the next generation of scientists in this emerging field.
Equally, Wits has long been a centre of intellectual leadership in the humanities and social sciences, shaping debates on history, politics, culture, and power, and strengthening democratic thought through engaged scholarship.
It is from this depth and breadth of excellence that global recognition has followed. Wits alumni and scholars include recipients of the world’s most prestigious honours, including Nobel Prize laureates Aaron Klug, Sydney Brenner, Nadine Gordimer, and Nelson Mandela, as well as Achille Mbembe, the first African recipient of the Holberg Prize, and Peter Sarnak, recipient of the Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences.
As Wits looks ahead, we encourage you to remain connected to the University and to carry forward its values as part of a legacy that continues to shape South Africa, the continent, and the world.
We congratulate you on your achievement and wish you every success in the journey ahead.
Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, FRS Vice-Chancellor and Principal Wits University
A MESSAGE TO GRADUATES FROM THE PRESIDENT OF CONVOCATION
Dear Wits Graduate,
There are a few defining moments in life – and it is without doubt that graduation is one of them!
Today, you enter the world as a graduate from one of the top universities on the African continent. You enter into a world filled with many challenges, but a world that is also filled with limitless possibilities. May you meet all the challenges and opportunities that await you with pride, drive, passion, innovation, social-conscience and positivepurpose.
In addition to earning the degree conferred upon you today, you have also earned the right to be associated with a special group of individuals – the Convocation of Wits University. Convocation represents all the degreed graduates of Wits and forms a vital link between the University and the global community in which it operates. Membership to Convocation is free and serves as an official channel, allowing you, the members, to convey to the University management your views about the University. This membership comes with several unique privileges, which include nominating the Chancellor of the University. The Convocation Executive has two members on the Wits Council (the governing body of the University) and maintains other regular contact with the University to ensure the voice of the Convocation is represented at the highest levels of The University.
There are over approximately 250 000 Wits alumni worldwide. The distinction of our University is important to the prestige of our collective qualifications. We call upon you to nurture and enhance the value of your degree by promoting Wits’ image, preserving our values, and contributing towards our ongoing development, ensuring that we grow in stature as a globally competitive, proudly South African institution of higher learning.
Please engage with us via our numerous social media channels and keep connected with us so you can access career support, receive invitations to events and reunions and have sight of all the latest news about Wits and prominent Witsies: wits.ac.za/alumni/updateyourdetails/
I would like to extend a warm welcome to you – you are now a #Witsie4Life!
Ms Kgomotso Mufamadi President of Convocation
Convocation is a statutory body that includes all graduates of the University. Convocation is the largest constituency of the University (since the founding of the University in 1922, graduates number over 200 000). Its statutory mandate is to “… discuss and state its opinion upon any matters relating to the University including matters referred to it by the Council” and allows for the views of graduates to be represented at the highest levels of governance of the University.
Chancellor
OFFICERS OF THE UNIVERSITY
DR NJ DLAMINI MBChB (Natal) DOH (Free State) MBA (Witwatersrand) DBL (Unisa) PGCE (Witwatersrand) IEC (Stanford)
Vice-Chancellor and Principal
PROFESSOR Z VILAKAZI BSc (Manchester) MSc PhD (Witwatersrand) FRS, FAAS, MASSAf
Chairman of Council
MR T NOMBEMBE BCom (UNITRA) BCompt Hons (UNISA); CA(SA)
Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
PROFESSOR R OSMAN BA (Witwatersrand) HDipEd BEd (Unisa) MEd PhD (Witwatersrand) MASSAf
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation)
PROFESSOR L MORRIS BSc (Hons) (Witwatersrand) DPhil (Oxford) FAAS MASSAf FRSSA
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Systems and Operations)
PROFESSOR IR JANDRELL BSc(Eng) GDE PhD (Witwatersrand) IntPE(SA) PrEng FSAAE FSAIEE SMIEEE
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (People Development and Culture)
PROFESSOR G STEVENS BA (Cape Town) BA (Hons) Psych MPsych (Western Cape) DLitt et Phil (UNISA), MASSAf
Registrar
MS CG CROSLEY BA HDipEd (Witwatersrand) BEd Hons (Unisa) MEd (Witwatersrand)
(Acting) Chief Financial Officer
MR D RAVJEE CA (SA) BCompt Hons (UNISA)
Dean of Student Affairs
MR JAP SEPTEMBER BA MPhil (Cape Town)
DEANS OF THE FACULTIES
Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management
PROFESSOR J COHEN BCom Hons PhD (Witwatersrand)
Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
PROFESSOR C MUSINGWINI BSc (Hons)(Eng) (Zimbabwe) MSc(Eng) PhD (Witwatersrand) PrEng FSAIMM
Faculty of Health Sciences
PROFESSOR SA MADHI MBBCh MMed PhD (Witwatersrand) CBE FCPaeds(SA) TWAS MASSAf RSSAf
Faculty of Humanities
PROFESSOR M MUSEMWA BA Hons (Zimbabwe) MA (Cape Town) PhD (Minnesota) MASSAf
Faculty of Science
PROFESSOR N CHETTY BSc Hons (Natal) MS PhD (U. Illinois Urbana-Champaign) MASSAf MSAIP MRSSA
President of Convocation
MS K MUFAMADI BA LLB LLM (Witwatersrand)
ORDER OF PROCEDURE
13 JULY 2026 AT 09:30
The audience will rise as the academic procession enters the hall and will remain standing until the Chancellor is in place
The Chancellor will constitute the congregation
The Chancellor will welcome the graduands and guests
Address to the congregation
Conferment of degrees
The Acting President of Convocation will address the graduates
The Chancellor will dissolve the congregation
The audience will stand while Ihele is played
Members of the audience are requested to stand while the academic procession leaves the hall and not to leave the hall before the end of the ceremony.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
In the event of load-shedding or power cuts, the Great Hall may become totally dark until the generator comes into operation.
Gaudeamus igitur
Juvenes dum sumus
GAUDEAMUS
Post jucundum juventutem
Post molestam senectutem
Nos habebit humus.
Ubi sunt qui ante nos
In mundo fuere?
Vadite ad superos
Transite in inferos
Hos si vis videre.
Vita nostra brevis est Brevi finietur.
Venit mors velociter
Rapit nos atrociter
Nemini parcetur.
Vivat academia
Vivant professores
Vivat membrum quodlibet
Vivat membra quaelibet
Semper sint in flore.
Vivant omnes virgines
Faciles, formosae.
Vivant et mulieres
Tenerae amabiles
Bonae laboriosae.
Vivant et republica et qui illam regit.
Vivat nostra civitas, Maecenatum caritas
Quae nos hic protegit.
Pereat tristitia,
Pereant osores.
Pereat diabolus, Quivis antiburschius
Atque irrisores.
Let us rejoice therefore
While we are young.
After a pleasant youth
After a troublesome old age
The earth will have us.
Where are they
Who were in the world before us?
You may cross over to heaven
You may go to hell
If you wish to see them.
Our life is brief It will be finished shortly.
Death comes quickly Atrociously, it snatches us away. No one is spared.
Long live the academy!
Long live the teachers!
Long live each male student!
Long live each female student!
May they always flourish!
Long live all maidens
Easy and beautiful!
Long live mature women also,
Tender and loveable
And full of good labor.
Long live the State
And the One who rules it!
Long live our City
And the charity of benefactors Which protects us here!
Let sadness perish!
Let haters perish!
Let the devil perish!
Let whoever is against our school
Who laughs at it, perish!
Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo,
Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Nkosi sikelela Thina lusapho lwayo.
Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, Setjhaba sa, South Afrika — South Afrika.
Uit die blou van onse hemel, Uit die diepte van ons see, Oor ons ewige gebergtes, Waar die kranse antwoord gee,
Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom In South Africa our land.
Wits Choir
The Wits Choir has been around since 1995. Their repertoire is colourful and vibrant. They perform regularly at graduations and important ceremonies. The Wits Choir has toured internationally as well as playing host to other choirs here. They are also active in the community, undertaking choral outreach programmes.
The
IHELE THE PROCESSION
IHELE
Words and music by S.B.P. Mnomiya
Anhom Falalala
Obani labo?
Baphi Ahhom?
Ngibona beza
Beyikazela
Bathwel ‘ongiyane
Bavela kuphi na?
Obani labo?
Ongqondongqondo
Osibakhulu
Yibo labo hhom!
Yini na leyo?
Ihele
Ihele lezingwazi zakithi
Ahhom udwendwe
Ahhom
Udwendwe lwezingqwele zakithi
Nant’ ihele
Longqondongqondo
Nant’ ihele
Losibakhulu
Udwendwe
Udwendwe Iwezingqwele zakithi
THE PROCESSION
Who are those? Which, Falalala?
I see them coming
Walking with swinging garments
They are wearing head rings
Where do they come from?
Who are those?
They are people with knowledge
They are people in authority
These are the ones
What is that?
It is a procession
A procession of our heroes
It is a procession
A procession of our champions
Here is a procession
Of people of knowledge
Here is a procession
Of people of knowledge
A procession
A procession of our heroes
Ihele is known as the ‘Black’ Gaudeamus Igitur. In song, the writer, Mnomiya uses very poetic language to describe a graduation ceremony. The soloist sings of the ‘strange’ procession of people in long robes and head gear. The choir responds by saying that these people are academics who read profound books of knowledge.
Mnomiya goes on to say that the graduates are an inspiration to all of us, and we will also graduate like them one day. The song goes on to wish the graduates well and it ends with a resounding “Halala” (well done!).
THE UNIVERSITY MACE
Maces were originally weapons of defence, designed to break through armour. In medieval times, bishops carried a mace instead of a sword into battle to enable them to defend themselves in accordance with the canonical rule that forbade a priest to shed blood. In time, the mace has come to be regarded as a symbol of delegated authority vested in a person or an institution. At this University, it is a symbol of the authority vested in the Chancellor and a reminder of the mandate given by the legislature of this country to the University to grant degrees.
The University mace is the work of the Edinburgh designer, silversmith and engraver, William Kirk, who designed and made the mace of the University of Stirling and of other institutions. It is silver-and goldplated, is 1070 millimetres long and 180 millimetres broad and weighs seven kilograms. The heraldic devices used in the decoration reflect the character of this University as an institution of learning, set in a mining centre within the Republic of South Africa.
The head of the mace with its spreading vertical blades is symbolic of the horns of a springbok. The central vertical spike is representative of a rock drill on the mine, and the amber stone set in the head is intended as a tribute to a past Chancellor through its association with his name, Bernstein, which in German means amber stone. The heavy quality of the head is consistent with the traditional concept of the mace as a weapon of defence. The collar repeats the shape of the head. It consists of eight cogs which symbolise the cog-wheel in the University coat of arms and represents mining and industry. The shaft is octagonal and divided into three sections. The coat of arms of the University is placed on the shaft under the collar. Below this the words Universitas Witwatersrandensis Johannesburgi: are inscribed, followed by the date in Roman numerals – MCMLXXVI (1977) – which signifies the year of the dedication of the mace.
The mace is a symbolic portrayal of this University, this city, the Witwatersrand and the Republic of South Africa. It is a constant reminder to members of Council and Senate to uphold at all times the rights, powers and privileges of the University and its governing bodies.
ACADEMIC DRESS
The academic dress of this University is patterned on that of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, with modifications based on the model of the University of London and certain individual features, particularly in the costumes of office bearers and the hoods of degrees of bachelor and master.
Dress for Office Bearers
• The Chancellor wears a scarlet silk gown with a broad facing of black velvet down each side, embroidered in gold and a black velvet cap with gold cord and tassels.
• The Vice-Chancellor and Principal wears a blue silk gown with a broad facing of gold silk down each side, embroidered in blue, the sleeves being lined with gold silk. The cap is of the same design as that of the Chancellor.
• The Chairman of Council wears a black silk gown with a broad facing of red velvet down each side and around the neck, the sleeves being lined with gold silk. The cap is of the same design as that of the Chancellor.
• The academic dress of the Deputy Vice-Chancellors and the Executive Directors is the same as that of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, except that the colour of the facing and sleeves of the gown and of the cord and tassels of the cap is silver-grey.
• The gown of the President of Convocation is of blue silk, with a broad facing of gold silk down each side, the sleeves being lined with white silk. The cap is the same as that of the Chancellor, but with a blue cord and tassels.
• The Registrar wears a black silk gown with a broad facing of blue silk down each side, bordered with gold braid. The cap is the same as that of the President of Convocation.
• A member of Council wears a black silk gown with a broad facing of gold silk. The cap is the same as that of the Chancellor.
• The gown of the President of the Students’ Representative Council is black with a broad facing of blue satin.
Graduands’ Gowns
• The gowns for all degrees of bachelor and master of the University are black, of the same pattern as the gown for a Master of Arts at the University of Oxford.
• The gown for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is scarlet, after the University of London pattern.
• The gown for a senior doctorate is the same as that for the PhD, but with a gold satin facing on each side of the gown and with the sleeve button and cord in gold.
The Academic Hood
The academic hood is the principal feature of the costume for holders of our degrees of bachelor and master. The hood for the PhD is standard, regardless of the Faculty in which the degree was obtained. It is scarlet silk, lined with white silk.
Degree Colours
The hoods reflect the colour or colours of a particular degree or associated degrees.
DISTINCTLY WITS
As a public University in South Africa that is over a 100 years old, Wits is proud of its record of achievement as a significant contributor to our society. We contribute capable people to society that are training in their chosen field that are engaged and able to tackle problems using evidence-based solutions. We also engage with our communities to share knowledge that we create so as to make a positive impact on the quality of life. Wits for Good.
Wits is a world-class research-intensive university based on our intellectual excellence, international competitiveness, and commitment to social justice; all of which have a measurable impact.
What makes Wits distinct?
Here are a few of many differentiators:
• An international perspective that helps us maintain high standards in teaching and learning and research, while not distracting us from our place in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Africa. In 2024 Wits authors published articles with co-authors from 199 universities, 94% of which were from countries other than South Africa.
• An intellectual hub of Africa, a founding member of the African Research University Alliance.
• An active and engaged community leader that takes a stand on social issues and is fully committed to the advancement of the public good.
• A growing contribution to the body of knowledge through peer reviewed academic publications: 4 563 in 2024 and an average growth rate of 4% per year over the last five years.
• Knowledge contribution that is above global quality averages in several fields including: clinical and pre-clinical health studies (76% above global norms); arts and humanities (58% above global norms); life sciences (36% above global norms); physical sciences (12% above global norms).
• Wits is particularly associated with the study of the fields of virology, particle physics and the Higgs Boson, malaria, archaeology, paleontology, paleoanthropology, violence, local and regional politics, geochemistry, rock mechanics, deep mining, forensic anthropology, climate change, migration, social justice, and many more.
• Proud of the four Nobel laureates and the 99 Rhodes Scholars.
• Proud of our current 42 000 students of whom 16 600 (40%) are undertaking postgraduate studies and learning to make their own unique contributions to the global knowledge base.
• Proud of our more than 200 000 graduates. More than 90% of Wits graduates obtain permanent employment within 12 months of graduation.
• Proud of its ability to raise external funding to support and drive its research efforts, with contributions exceeding R 2 billion per annum.
FACULTY OF COMMERCE, LAW AND MANAGEMENT
DEAN: PROFESSOR J COHEN BCom Hons PhD (Witwatersrand)
Doctor of Philosophy
CHADAMBUKA, Rumbidzai Ann Management
(WSG)
THESIS: Examining the coping mechanisms of Zimbabwean informal cross-border traders in response to external shocks
The thesis studies informal cross-border trade along the Harare-Johannesburg route. Using a critical political economy framework, it redefines informal cross-border trade as a form of decentralised economic governance rather than a temporary economic response. The thesis argues that traders’ resilience is sustained through informal, highly transactional networks rooted in shared knowledge, and that top-down approaches to formalisation fail to recognise the embedded nature of informality and the legitimacy that traders accord to their own practices.
Supervisor: Dr H Lynge-Mangueira
DERA, Anesu Tavarwisa Law
THESIS: A legal innovation or a false promise? An analysis of the proposed Business and Human Rights treaty from a Third World International Law perspective, with a specific focus on Africa
Deploying the Third World Approaches to International Law perspective as a critical tool for reconstruction, this thesis develops the concept of a tripartite structure of harm to explain corporate impunity: the harmful actions of corporations, the ongoing legacies of global apartheid and imperialism, and inequalities embedded within international law. The candidate uses this framework to critique the latest draft of the Business and Human Rights Treaty and to recommend systemic legal reform based on agency, historical redress, and epistemic justice.
Supervisor: Associate Professor T Madlingozi
DILOTSOTLHE, Mokaedi Emmanuel Marketing
THESIS: Helpers and hindrances of challenger brand affection and support: Holistic model development and testing
The marketing discipline lacks theoretical frameworks to measure the helpers and hindrances of challenger / underdog brands’ affection and support. Guided by various theories, this study built and tested a framework to enrich brand management literature and brand owners’ knowledge. Quantitative and semi-structured data from 1234 FlySafair, Capitec, Rain, and Yoco consumers revealed some brand/market offerings, self-oriented, and other-oriented psychological factors as helpers. Hindrances were social dominance orientation but not resistance to change, materialism, ambiguity aversion, and brand transgression. Brand forgiveness played a moderating role.
Supervisor: Professor H Duh
DITODI, Segabe Koos Law
THESIS: Deciphering accountability issues in bank failures in South Africa
Through a doctrinal and comparative analysis, this thesis addresses a critical gap in legislative clarity and an enforcement vacuum as contributory factors to bank failures in South Africa. The thesis makes an original contribution to banking regulation scholarship and advances concrete proposals for legislative and supervisory reform.
Supervisor: Associate Professor H Kawadza
JAVANI, Shingai
THESIS: A knowledge and information systems capabilities framework for improved business analytics in a South African government organisation
This thesis presents a contextually grounded investigation into how knowledge sharing and information systems capabilities can improve business analytics within a South African government organisation. The study makes valuable scholarly contribution by addressing an important gap in literature concerning the socio-technical dimensions of business analytics in developing economy contexts. The findings provide meaningful insights into the role of organisational culture, knowledge-sharing practices, and IS capabilities in enhancing business analytics, offering practical implications for public sector digital transformation and policy alignment.
Supervisor: Dr J Mangundu
KOOPMAN, Aaron Owen
THESIS: Examining the dimensions and outcomes of University brand personality
Marketing
This thesis investigates university brand personality and its influence on supportive, emotional, and behavioural and brand-related outcomes at three South African universities. Using a quantitative approach, the study’s findings demonstrate the extent to which university brand personality dimensions influence brand attitude and various student behaviours, highlighting self-brand connection’s role in bridging the attitude-behaviour gap. Theoretically, the study contributes by offering a strategic framework for universities to strengthen their brand and competitive positioning, build meaningful identities, and enhance their brand equity.
Supervisors: Professor H Duh and Associate Professor N Ligaraba
LAMOLA, Medupi John Management (WBS)
THESIS: Determinants and consequences of consumer brand engagement in South Africa
This quantitative study examines the determinants and consequences of consumer brand engagement on social networking sites by comparing engagement in short-term insurance and fashion sectors of South Africa. The study confirms consumer involvement, satisfaction, and trust as key drivers of engagement, which subsequently influences self-brand connect and brand usage intent. While gender exhibited no moderating effect, sector-specific differences emerged. The study extends Social Exchange Theory to an emerging market perspective, offering theoretical and managerial insights for fostering sustained digital engagement.
Supervisors: Professor T Anning and Associate Professor Y Saini
MAGAGULA, Sithelo Law
THESIS: Harmonisation of Namibian eviction law with international legal framework: Lessons from South African jurisprudence
Based on an interpretation of domestic, South African, and other comparative and international law, the candidate’s PhD provides a comprehensive and original critique of Namibia’s contemporary eviction law. Highlighting the failure of the Squatters Proclamation and the rei vindicatio to impose an obligation on the state to provide alternative housing when eviction would otherwise result in homelessness, Magagula finds that this deficit renders the Namibian eviction paradigm unconstitutional and incompatible with international eviction law.
Supervisor: Professor J Dugard
MARTIN, Blake Neal Law
THESIS: Responding to image-based sexual abuse through the South African Criminal Law
This study offers a novel human rights centred analysis of image based sexual abuse (IBSA) in South Africa, demonstrating how IBSA uniquely violates the rights to dignity, privacy and life. It develops a novel justification for treating IBSA as a serious sexual crime and provides an original assessment of the extent to which existing crimes - including murder, culpable homicide, and newly enacted offencescan be employed to address its distinct harms. The thesis further proposes proportionate punishment guidelines tailored specifically to IBSA offenders.
Supervisor: Associate Professor E Zitzke
MATHENTAMO, Qaqambile Economics
THESIS: ISiNtu-understood social norms and networks: A case study of cost minimisation of economic activities and economic outcomes in a rural South African context
The candidate’s PhD opens a new and important direction in South African economics. It explores the role of culture (broadly understood) in shaping social capital in South Africa’s past, and how this has affected and will affect economic patterns and possibilities amongst South Africans. This is almost uncharted territory in South African economics and opens up new ways of thinking about how to promote development and to overcome the injustices of colonialism and Apartheid.
Supervisor: Professor S Schirmer
MAZINGI, Aretha Enthea
Human Resource Management
THESIS: Human resource analytics adoption, human resource management practices and the operational performance of human resource professionals in the South African financial sector
The candidate investigated the extent to which the South African financial sector has adopted human resources analytics in its human resources management practices. Findings affirmed that the analytical competencies of human resources professionals play a vital role in the adoption of human resources analytics.
Supervisor: Associate Professor O Samuel
MERINO DE LA NUEZ, Andres
THESIS: Academic performance of accountancy students: The role of self-regulation
Accountancy
The study uses a mixed methods explanatory sequential design to assess the extent to which mindsets are related to academic achievement in the context of students completing a professionally endorsed accountancy degree. The study expands achievement motivation theory by conceptualizing mindsets as being multidimensional, rather than on a continuum from a xed to a growth mindset. It proposes that two additional mindset proles are required, namely, risk avoidance and perfectionist, to better describe the complexity of students’ motivational proles.
Supervisors: Professor W Maroun and Professor C Callaghan
MOKWELE, Tshepho Joseph Management (WSG)
THESIS: The roles and influence of Foreign Policy Epistemic Communities on Post-Apartheid South Africa’s Foreign Policy Decision-Making
This qualitative multi-case study explored the roles and influence of epistemic communities on South Africa’s foreign policy decision-making, focusing on BRICS, climate change diplomacy, and peacemaking in the DRC. It developed and applied an integrated framework anchored in Haas’s epistemic communities concept, Allison’s decision-making models, and international relations levels of analysis. The study found that epistemic communities play an important role in knowledge production, policy discourse, and interpretation. However, state actors retain decision-making authority, with knowledge uptake and institutionalisation remaining selective and politically contingent.
Supervisor: Professor A Van Nieuwkerk
MOROLO, Charles Morake Management (WSG)
THESIS: Leveraging quality road infrastructure to optimize economic growth in Southern African development community
The study investigates the relationship between road quality and economic growth in selected SADC countries - namely Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe - over the period from 2006 to 2019. The research employed panel regression analysis and conducted interviews with stakeholders to evaluate the impact of road quality infrastructure on economic growth. The research findings indicate that, across the SADC region, road quality does not directly stimulate growth. Instead, it is confounding factors such as inflation, governance, funding, border efficiency, and policy harmonisation that play a significant role.
Supervisor: Associate Professor K Wotela
MOTEULI-NDLELENI, Limpho Elizabeth Management (WBS)
THESIS: The influence of corporate social responsibility on social marketing: The case of the Lesotho military
This thesis examines the underexplored role of military corporate social responsibility in community development and social cohesion within the African context. Using a mixed-method exploratory sequential design with purposive sampling of 274 participants, the study combines qualitative and quantitative evidence to assess the developmental impact of military-led social interventions. The findings demonstrate that military responsibility programmes contribute to socio-economic resilience and behavioral change. The study advances scholarship by repositioning military CSR as a strategic development and public leadership instrument rather than a purely operational activity.
Supervisors: Associate Professor Y Saini and Professor B Moyo
NGUBANE, Nokuthula Pocia Management (WSG)
THESIS: Institutional arrangements for economic growth in South Africa
This thesis makes an original and significant contribution to debates on economic governance and state capacity in post-apartheid South Africa. Drawing on institutional economics, political economy and developmental state theory, it examines how fragmented mandates, weak coordination and asymmetrical power relations shape the functioning of key economic institutions. Through rich qualitative analysis and interviews with senior policymakers, the study advances new insights into institutional coherence and the conditions required for inclusive economic transformation.
Supervisor: Associate Professor H Ndhlovu
NYAMAJIWA, Michael Tafadzwa Management (WSG)
THESIS: The resilience of smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe
The candidate, did his PhD research on the resilience of smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe. He explored why smallholder irrigation schemes were failing to sustain their operations and promote rural development in Zimbabwe. The qualitative study employed a case study research design. Key findings include challenges located within technical, economic, socio-political, and environmental exigencies. The study proposed a resilience for development model, good governance at grassroot level, policy consistence, gender equity, market linkages, and farmer education on climate change.
Supervisor: Associate Professor C Blaser Mapitsa
OLUOCH, Wycliffe Odiwuor Management (WSG)
THESIS: Corporate debts and the microstructure of corporate bond markets in Africa
This study investigates the microstructure of African corporate bond markets and its effects on the development of the corporate bond markets. The study also investigates firm debt sourcing patterns under the varying quality of state and corporate governance. The findings emphasize the role of market microstructure in facilitating the development of corporate bond markets. Importantly, we develop a novel debt structure theory, which holds that the quality of state governance influences firms’ debt decisions (debt structure) and the cost of debts.
Supervisor: Professor K Ojah
OWOO, Natalia Dowuona Management (WBS)
THESIS: Essays on financial stability in Ghana
This thesis examines the foundations of financial stability in Ghana in the aftermath of major banking sector reforms. It develops an early warning system for identifying vulnerable banks, investigates how macroeconomic shocks influence banking sector stability, and analyses how credit risks spread across economic sectors. By combining innovative analytical techniques with policy-relevant evidence, the study provides practical insights for strengthening financial sector resilience, improving regulatory oversight, and reducing the likelihood and costs of future financial crises.
Supervisor: Associate Professor J Odei-Mensah
RAMORWA,
Botsang Phomolo Business Science
THESIS: Evaluating the suitability of the traditional private equity fund structures in Africa focusing on performance and holding periods
This thesis examines the determinants of holding periods in African private equity using a dataset of 73 portfolio companies funded between 2005 and 2022. Employing ordinary least squares, logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models, the study finds that African investments have longer holding periods than those in developed markets. Institutional quality, trade openness, demographics and firm performance significantly affect these periods. Strong institutions and profitability shorten periods, while weak governance lengthens them, suggesting adaptations to conventional private equity fund horizons in Africa.
Supervisor: Professor C Auret
SHABANGU, Fikile Ingrid Management (WBS)
THESIS: Analysing country and company factors driving private equity investments in Africa and their influence on performance
This study investigates the country and company factors that attract private equity investment in Africa and examines how these investments influence business performance. The work advances understanding of how private capital can contribute to enterprise growth and economic development across the continent. By providing evidence-based insights for policymakers, investors and industry practitioners, the research makes a significant contribution to the study of African finance and investment.
Supervisor: Associate Professor T Mokoaleli-Mokoteli
THESIS: Modelling asset return linkages between South Africa and Group of Seven (G7) markets
This thesis examines the dynamic financial interconnectedness between South Africa and G7 economies across stock, bond, and foreign exchange markets. Using state-of-the-art econometric methods, including time-varying parameter models, wavelet multiscale analysis, frequency domain spillover techniques, quantile regression, and entropy-based approaches, this study provides important insights into financial contagion and systemic risk transmission. The research advances understanding of emerging market integration within global financial systems and has important implications for policymakers, investors, and financial stability.
Supervisor: Associate Professor J Odei-Mensah
VAN DER MERWE, Timothy David Law
THESIS: Water (In)equality in South Africa: A case study of selected rural municipalities in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces
The candidate’s thesis examines water inequality in South Africa through a case study of four rural municipalities in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. Measuring the country’s constitutional and legislative promises against the lived reality of failed water provision, he interrogates what substantive and transformative equality genuinely require. His work exposes the environmental, economic, political and social drivers of inequality, offering a compelling call for the equitable, sustainable realisation of the right to water.
Supervisor: Professor T Field
XABA, Ewell Mnelisi Marketing
THESIS: The future of online grocery shopping in South Africa: how can retailers influence consumer’s online trust and adoption intention?
Existing research on how technology-enabled experiential, relational, and motivational factors shape consumer trust and intention to adopt online grocery shopping in South Africa remains fragmented. This study quantitatively examined the factors influencing consumer trust and intention to adopt online grocery shopping in South Africa. SmartPLS-SEM was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that consumers are likely to embrace online grocery platforms that are informative, secure, and enjoyable. The study contributes to theory and offers practical insights for food retailers.
Supervisors: Dr F Mgiba and Associate Professor M Venter De Villiers
SIBANDA, Jakubose Management (WBS)
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
DEAN: PROFESSOR C MUSINGWINI BSc (Hons)(Eng) (Zimbabwe) MSc(Eng)
PhD (Witwatersrand) PrEng FSAIMM
Doctor of Philosophy
ASWAT, Muhammed
THESIS: Agent-Based modelling for constrained electrification systems
Electrical Engineering
The candidate studied the challenges of rural electrification and developed a new approach to model how small power systems and loads interact in rural environments. This work led to an innovative approach and delivered a significant technological improvement in providing affordable electrical refrigeration.
Supervisors: Professor W Cronje and Professor A Van Wyk
BOSALETSI, Ouma Enesia Tlou
Electrical Engineering
THESIS: Managing controllable thermal loads to reduce the rate of change of frequency during system contingencies in low inertia power systems
This research developed a small-scale experimental power grid to study how renewable energy, like solar and wind, affects electricity stability. It showed that everyday appliances such as water heaters can automatically adjust their power use to help keep the grid steady, offering a low-cost, practical way to support renewable-based power systems.
Supervisors: Professor W Cronje and Professor L Masisi
DANGOR, Mohammed Raees Ebrahim
Electrical Engineering
THESIS: A multidimensional approach to measure and analyse online learning poverty
The candidate developed the concept of online learning poverty and introduced the Online Learning Poverty Index to measure resource-related deprivation in online and blended learning. Using survey data from 1,016 Wits University students, the thesis shows that unequal access to digital tools, electricity, and suitable study spaces creates measurable barriers to educational participation.
Supervisors: Professor E Trengove and Dr M Bekker
ESSA, Saadia
THESIS: Personalised learning based on machine learning approaches
Electrical Engineering
This thesis explores how Artificial Intelligence uses students’ online learning behaviour to predict their learning preferences and support personalised learning. By developing and testing a hybrid machine learning approach within a South African institution, it contributes to personalised learning approaches that can provide effective, engaging learning experiences for diverse students.
Supervisors: Professor T Celik and Dr N Human-Hendricks
GONDWE, James
School of Architecture and Planning
THESIS: Reimagining More-than-Human Cities in Africa: Exploring animal geographies of cattle in Karonga Town, Malawi
Current literature on livestock-human relations in urban Africa is limited to the premise that livestock are resources for urban development and that livestock rearing is a rural enterprise. By illuminating the empirics of complex human-cattle entanglements with more-than-human geography theories and foregrounding the human-cattle relations with multispecies ethnography, the study revealed that the ing’ombe (cattle) contributed the functionality and form of Karonga Town beyond a commodity framework.
Supervisor: Professor M Sihlongonyane
MATLALA, Boitumelo Veronica
School of Architecture and Planning
THESIS: NGO Mediation In Urban Development. The case of Development Action Group’s role in redevelopment of Woodstock and Salt River
This thesis centers the relationship between the local state and civil society actors engaged in urban development. The candidate studied non-governmental organisations working to deepen participatory planning. Focusing on redevelopment proposals in two inner-city Cape Town suburbs, the candidate shows how NGO mediation affected both community actors and the state, structuring the relationship between the two. Her work thus extends the concept of mediation in urban development
Supervisors: Professor S Charlton and Professor C Benit-Gbaffou
MKHIZE, Msizi Collen
Chemical Engineering
THESIS: Viability of Sasol coal and ash as sources of critical raw materials, focusing on rare earth elements (REEs)
This research has pioneered the recovery of rare earth elements and critical raw materials from South African coal and coal-derived ashes, demonstrating the transformative potential of unconventional resources for sustainable mineral beneficiation. Through the innovative integration of thermal, hydrothermal, and hydrometallurgical processes, this work advances circular economy development, strategic resource recovery, and future energy and industrial technologies
Supervisors: Professor O Bada and Professor N Wagner
MTHETHWA, Fundiswa
Electrical Engineering
THESIS: Energy management and control paradigm for optimal peer-to-peer energy sharing to increase the resilience of remote interconnected microgrids
The candidate has conducted pioneering research on the management and control of renewabledominated interconnected microgrids, also referred to as nested microgrids, aimed at delivering reliable and environmentally resilient power to agro-based rural communities. Her work addresses the critical challenge in regions where centralized grid access is either unavailable in remote areas or severely compromised by frequent outages and power quality deficiencies. By integrating advanced control strategies, adaptive load management, and renewable resource optimization, her research ensures both stability and sustainability of local energy systems. Importantly, her methodologies are highly transferable to practical and industrial implementations, offering scalable solutions that could substantially mitigate the long-standing energy reliability issues confronting the country, while promoting socio-economic development and climate-resilient energy infrastructure.
Supervisors: Professor G Gomes and Professor D Dorrell
NELWALANI, Ndivhuwo Brayner Metallurgy and Materials
THESIS: The effect of casting parameters on mechanical properties of high chromium white cast iron
This research varied carbon and chromium content in high chromium white cast iron (HCWCI) alloys, linking solidification data to metallurgical microstructural development. This enabled optimisation of mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour. Ultimately, a predictive database was created to help engineers select the best alloy for practical applications.
Supervisors: Professor M Bodunrin and Dr D Klenam
OWOLABI, Abideen Toba
THESIS: Factors affecting the interpretation of piezocone penetration testing
Civil Engineering
The candidate’s research focused on the cone penetration test which is the most widely used method to assess the mechanical stability of mine waste facilities. His work has deepened our understanding of this test and yielded insights essential to preventing catastrophic failures. Such collapses have devastated communities across virtually all mining nations, including South Africa, as tragically illustrated by the disasters at Merriespruit and Jagersfontein.
Supervisors: Dr L Torres Cruz and Dr R Bradley
ZULU, Njabulo Mziwandile Chemical Engineering
THESIS: Phase equilibrium investigation into mixed carbon dioxide and methane hydrates inhibition by Deep Eutectic Solvents
Exploring cost-effective and environmentally friendly measures to prevent the formation of gas hydrates during transportation of natural gases, a novel technology of gas hydrate inhibition using green solvents known as deep eutectic solvents was investigated. Using both experimental and theoretical approaches, an evidence that the deep eutectic solvents are promising alternative to conventional chemicals was presented.
Supervisors: Dr H Hashemi and Professor A Tumba
FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
DEAN: PROFESSOR SA MADHI MBBCh MMed PhD (Witwatersrand) CBE FCPaeds(SA)
TWAS MASSAf RSSAf
Doctor of Philosophy
ABDULLA, Saira Public Health
THESIS: Strengthening integrated community-based collaborative care for people living with serious mental illness in South Africa: A mixed-methods analysis
This thesis examines the barriers, facilitators, and strategies for strengthening integrated communitybased collaborative care for people living with serious mental illness in South Africa, using a mixedmethods approach in two integrated primary healthcare clinics in Sedibeng.
Supervisors: Professor A Goudge, Adjunct Professor L Robertson and Dr S Kramer
CHIWAMBUTSA, Shingirai Melidith Human Genetics
THESIS: Pharmacokinetic-pharmacogenetic modelling of tamoxifen in African women with breast cancer for individualised therapy
This study examined how genetic variation in enzymes involving tamoxifen metabolism and the use of co-medications influence endoxifen exposure in breast cancer patients of African ancestry. A population pharmacokinetic-pharmacogenetic model was developed to predict endoxifen levels and to inform precision dosing. The findings of this study demonstrated the impact of CYP2D6*17 and CYP2D6*29 in reducing the exposure levels of endoxifen in breast cancer patients on tamoxifen of African ancestry. The study emphasised the importance of integrating pharmacogenetic information in tamoxifen dosing strategies to improve treatment outcomes.
Supervisors: Professor C Masimirembwa and Professor P Ruff
DAVID, Anura Haematology and Molecular Medicine
THESIS: Overcoming barriers in the diagnostic pipeline to improve the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB)
This thesis investigated novel approaches to affordable and accessible diagnosis of tuberculosis in SA. Findings demonstrated the ability to diagnose TB off a tongue swab and alternative molecular testing platforms in the laboratory. Collectively this work contributed to the World Health Organisation recommendations for testing and towards changing policy in SA to find more TB and treat faster.
Supervisors: Professor W Stevens and Professor L Scott
DE VILLIERS, Martjie
Nursing Education
THESIS: The development of a model of care for a selection of South African adult cancer survivors and their families
This doctoral research developed a comprehensive model of care to address the multidimensional needs of a select group of adult cancer survivors and their families in South Africa. Using a multiphase, mixed-methods approach, the study identified physical, psychological, social, and spiritual challenges across survivorship phases. Grounded in empirical evidence, the model emphasises coping, adaptation, and continuity of life following cancer. The work makes a significant contribution to patient- and family-centred care, informing practice, policy, and future research in oncology and survivorship care contexts.
Supervisor: Professor J Maree
GENT, Vicky Angela Anisa
THESIS: Evaluation of Group B Streptococcus proteins as maternal vaccines candidates
Immunology
This thesis investigated novel vaccine candidates against Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a leading cause of severe infections in newborns and young infants. Using genomic analysis, clinical studies and experimental models, the research evaluated gbs2106, a highly conserved and immunogenic protein associated with protection against neonatal GBS disease. The findings advance understanding of maternal vaccine development strategies and provide important evidence to support the development of next-generation vaccines aimed at preventing GBS infections in mothers and their infants.
Supervisors: Professor SA Madhi and Professor G Kwatra
JAGLAL, Prenika Paediatrics
THESIS: A decade of microbiological profiling and antimicrobial testing strategies of multidrug resistant isolates from paediatric patients in Soweto, South Africa
This doctoral study investigated paediatric bloodstream and cerebrospinal fluid infections over a 10-year period at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, analysing 58,000 clinical cultures to evaluate disease burden and antimicrobial resistance patterns. The research demonstrated rising infection rates and substantial multidrug resistance. Laboratory analyses identified tigecycline and meropenem as the most effective combination against multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria, while whole-genome sequencing detected colistin-resistant high-risk clones. These findings support unitspecific antibiograms, strengthened antimicrobial stewardship, ongoing microbiological surveillance, and improved infection control practices.
Supervisors: Professor S Velaphi, Professor C Menezes and Professor K SweSwe-Han
KHOZA, Siyabonga Professor Chemical Pathology
THESIS: Early detection of chronic kidney disease: The role of the urinary proteome
This study identified urinary proteomic biomarkers for the early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD). By analysing retrospective and prospective cohorts, we identified differentially abundant proteins were identified that remained robust whether CKD was stratified by eGFR or albuminuria. Furthermore, the proteomic classifier successfully distinguished healthy controls from high-risk individuals (e.g., those with hypertension or diabetes) who still maintained preserved kidney function. These results suggest that the urinary proteome offers a non-invasive, longitudinal window into renal health, serving as a sentinel for nephropathy before traditional clinical markers present.
Supervisors: Professor J George, Dr J Fabian and Dr I Govender
MAJAMANDA, Maureen Daisy Nursing
THESIS: Development of a paediatric oncology short learning programme for nurses in Malawi
This study addressed the critical shortage of specialised paediatric oncology nursing education in Malawi by developing and evaluating a short learning programme for nurses. Using an exploratory sequential mixed-method design guided by the ADDIE model, the study identified essential learning content, developed contextually relevant educational resources, and evaluated programme effectiveness. Findings demonstrated improvements in participants’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards paediatric oncology care, highlighting the programme’s potential to strengthen nursing competence and improve outcomes for children with cancer in Malawi.
Supervisors: Professor JE Maree and Dr I Kearns
MAKHULU, Edward Edmond
Virology
THESIS: Unravelling Microsporidia MB-Anopheles interactions: Seasonal dynamics, tissue distribution and physiological impacts in Anopheles arabiensis
Developing Microsporidia MB as a malaria transmission-blocking control tool requires understanding its tissue tropism and host interactions. This study identifies Anopheles arabiensis gut and gonads as primary sites for symbiont localization. Furthermore, it demonstrates that host age, blood-feeding, and metamorphosis drive symbiont intensity. Notably, Microsporidia MB enhances female survival under nutritional stress, while its absence in offspring of infected mothers negatively impacts energy reserves. These findings elucidate Microsporidia MB-Anopheles interactions essential in the development of Microsporidia MB-based control strategies.
Supervisors: Professor L Koekemoer, Dr JK Herren and Dr TO Onchuru
MANANA, Pinky Neria
Public Health
THESIS: Exploring the use of creative arts as community engagement strategies in the context of a pilot Sterile Insect Technique programme in South Africa
This research explored the use of culturally relevant, arts-based community engagement approaches to support the introduction of the Sterile Insect Technique for malaria control in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Using music, drama, and radio short stories, the study demonstrated how community-centred and participatory approaches can improve knowledge, foster trust, and enhance acceptance of novel public health technologies. This work contributes to the fields of community engagement, malaria elimination, and public health communication, with implications extending to other health interventions requiring community participation.
Supervisors: Dr S Jewett and Dr G Munhenga
MAZARIRE, Theresa Taona Virology
THESIS: Exploring the potential of geospatial tools to understand Anopheles arabiensis population dynamics: Steps towards the application of mosquito sterile insect technique program in South Africa
South Africa is exploring the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) to complement current malaria vector control strategies. Effective SIT application requires detailed knowledge of the targeted mosquito population dynamics and ecology, which is difficult to obtain using ground-based physical surveillance alone. This study evaluated the efficacy of geospatial tools in modelling mosquito habitat suitability and population trends. The findings showed that geospatial technologies can be used to characterise mosquito distribution and its drivers, therefore providing baseline information for efficient SIT application.
Supervisors: Dr G Munhenga and Professor S Newete
MHLANGA, Samantha
Public Health
THESIS: Strengthening accommodation services for people living with serious mental illness in Sedibeng district
This thesis evaluates community-based mental health accommodation services for people with serious mental illness in Sedibeng, South Africa. Using a rapid qualitative synthesis of 43 international studies and qualitative fieldwork, it highlights limited evidence from LMICs, resource constraints, and regulatory challenges. Findings show that smaller, family-size housing promotes autonomy, safety, and social inclusion, while school-like building models restrict freedom and community integration, emphasizing the need for context-appropriate, adequately funded community-based mental health accommodation systems.
Supervisors: Professor A Goudge, Professor F Griffiths and Adjunct Professor L Robertson
MOODIE,
Melanie Haematology and Molecular Medicine
THESIS: Genotypic characterization of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein from viral reservoirs in multiple anatomical compartments from decedents in the FIND2.0 cohort
This thesis describes genotypic characterization of the HIV-1 reservoir in 60 deceased people with HIV-1 (38 virologically-suppressed, 22 viraemic). Proviral DNA from blood and fine-needle biopsies of 10 anatomical compartments was amplified, sequenced, and analysed in the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (env), yielding 218 env sequences. Analyses identified multiple organs containing intact Env that serve as hubs for HIV-1 dissemination and exchange, including across the blood-brain barrier. Evidence of viral clonality, evolution, and compartmentalization was observed, highlighting reservoir heterogeneity and its implications for HIV-1 cure strategies.
Supervisors: Professor M Papathanasopoulos, Dr A Basson and Dr M Killick
MOTSEPE, Tshepo Lillet Nursing
THESIS: Improving disaster preparedness in an emergency department
Emergency nurses are at the forefront of the hospital, receiving patients presenting with various ailments. Within the diversity of patient presentations, they are also faced with preparing and managing patients involved in disasters or mass casualty incidents. This study utilised a multi-method approach to develop and validate a disaster preparedness competency-based education programme. This developed programme will encourage registered nurses working in the emergency department to strengthen their disaster competencies and improve disaster preparedness through education and training.
Supervisor: Professor S Schmollgruber
NEL, Jacques David Bioethics and Health Law
THESIS: Tailored and context-specific guidelines should guide intraoperative neuromonitoring in South Africa
This thesis explores the implications of dominant African moral theories for creating context-sensitive frameworks for intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring in South Africa. It draws on concepts like communal personhood, solidarity, and reciprocal relationships to propose new guidelines aimed at preventing harm and improving perioperative decision-making in complex surgical environments. In addition to demonstrating how dominant African moral theories can inform the development of context-specific guidelines for intraoperative neurophysiological neuromonitoring in South Africa, the thesis also outlines the specific roles that key actors can play in the implementation of these guidelines.
Supervisor: Dr C Ewuoso
NHLEKO, Mandlakayise Lucky Public Health
THESIS: Epidemiology and burden of cancer in South Africa (1997-2020): Assessment of cancer morbidity and mortality trends, determinants and economic burden in males and females
This study determined cancer mortality trends, investigated factors affecting pancreatic cancer mortality, determined spatial nature of cancers, investigated cancer mortality determinants while accounting for spatial relationships and quantified health burden of colorectal cancer in South Africa. Human capital approach, retrospective and cross-sectional ecological study were employed. Analyses revealed an increase in the cancer burden. Smoking and occupations were significantly associated with pancreatic cancer mortality. Districts displayed similar and divergent patterns. Preventive measures may improve life expectancy and quality of life.
Supervisors: Professor E Musenge and Dr I Edoka
OLIVIER, Franso-Mari
THESIS: The growing adolescent male cricket player - the development of a framework for injury risk reduction
An evidence-based framework was designed to mitigate injury risk among adolescent male cricket players during critical developmental phases. The framework was synthesised through a multimethodological approach, incorporating a systematic review with meta-analysis, a prospective longitudinal cohort study, an exploratory qualitative investigation, and a modified Delphi consensus process. Core domains include individualised screening, neuromuscular training strategies, workload management, and stakeholder education. This framework serves as a strategic resource for refining cricket governance and coaching curricula, optimising player safety and long-term athlete development.
Supervisor: Professor B Olivier and Dr C MacMillan
RAMUTH, Magalutcheemee
Virology
THESIS: Epidemiology and molecular evolution of influenza A and B virus isolates from Mauritius, 20092019
This study investigated how influenza A and B viruses circulated and evolved in Mauritius between 2009 and 2019. Using laboratory surveillance, molecular testing, sequencing, and antigenic analyses, the research examined virus diversity, antiviral resistance, and how closely circulating strains matched recommended vaccine strains. The findings highlighted the value of continuous influenza surveillance and genomic monitoring to better support vaccine decisions, outbreak preparedness, and public health responses in tropical island settings.
Supervisors: Dr FK Treurnicht, Dr J Sonoo and Dr M Fhooblall
REDDY, Krishnaveni
Wits Reproduction Health and HIV Institute
THESIS: Feasibility and acceptability of decentralised STI-self testing and risk self-assessment among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa to trigger PrEP re-start: The PALESA study
This thesis addressed the need to optimize HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa. To achieve this, a pilot randomized controlled trial was used to assess feasibility of using self-administered behavioural risk assessment and decentralized STI self-testing as mechanisms to support AGYW in self-reflection of sexual behaviour and recognition of fluctuating HIV/STI risk. Findings highlight the potential of both methods in supporting AGYW to make empowered, context-sensitive decisions related to PrEP use.
Supervisor: Professor T Palanee-Phillips and Professor R Heffron
SIBIYA, Busisiwe Gloria Public Health
THESIS: Nurses’ ethical dilemmas and moral distress during the Covid-19 pandemic in the central hospitals of Gauteng Province, South Africa
This PhD generated new knowledge on ethical dilemmas and moral distress among South African critical care nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ethical dilemmas related to patient care, teamwork and interprofessional collaboration, and the health system. The predictors of moral distress were lack of infection prevention training, collegial stigmatisation, access to personal protective equipment and hospital of employment. The study methodology and findings have global relevance, while highlighting the need for ethical health leadership, and safe and supportive practice environments.
Supervisor: Professor L Rispel
Howard Ivan Bioethics and Health Law
THESIS: Towards an ethically justified legislative, regulatory and policy framework that broadens access to private health insurance in South Africa
This thesis argues that there is an ethical and legal imperative on the State to amend South African legislation in such a manner that would bring about increased access to private health insurance, hence increased access to private health care, which in turn would increase the access to health care on an aggregate basis. The thesis also incorporates a critical analysis of the NHI and shows why it cannot practically achieve its objective of materially improving access to healthcare.
Supervisors: Professor K Behrens and Professor R Harris
THOMAS, Reenu
Paediatrics
THESIS: Clinical and microbiological epidemiology, risk factors and outcomes in neonates with sterile site infections due to carbapenem-resistant organisms
This thesis examined neonatal bloodstream and cerebrospinal fluid isolates over 10 years at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital and prospectively followed a cohort of neonates with Gram-negative infections to 18-24 months. The study demonstrated increasing Gram-negative and carbapenem-resistant infections, with high mortality and neurodevelopmental impairment rates. While carbapenem resistance was not independently associated with poorer outcomes, key risk factors for resistance, mortality, and impairment were identified, highlighting the urgent need for improved infection prevention strategies and novel antibiotic development.
Supervisors: Professor S Velaphi, Professor M Sharland and Dr M Clements
VAN
BLYDENSTEIN, Sarah Alexandra Internal Medicine
THESIS: Clinical perspectives on multisystem manifestations of hypoxaemic pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic
This thesis provides novel insights into the pathophysiology of severe hypoxaemic pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic within a resource-limited African setting. It demonstrates the value of lung ultrasound for bedside assessment, identifies right ventricular dysfunction as a consequence of pulmonary vascular burden, characterises the distinct thromboinflammatory abnormalities associated with COVID-19, and provides histopathological evidence supporting patient self-induced lung injury. Collectively, these findings advance understanding of acute respiratory failure and have implications extending beyond COVID-19 to the management of severe pneumonia.
Supervisors: Professor S Omar, Professor CN Menezes and Professor B Jacobson
SNOYMAN,
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
DEAN: PROFESSOR M MUSEMWA BA Hons (Zimbabwe) MA (Cape Town) PhD (Minnesota, USA) MASSAf
Doctor of Philosophy
ASARE, Samuel Education
THESIS: Exploring enacted and espoused ICT practices of tutors in Ghanaian Colleges of Education: Implications for ICT professional development
The candidate investigated the enacted and espoused ICT practices of tutors in Ghanaian Colleges of Education, to inform tutor professional development. The findings highlight the need for consistent and structured professional development to enhance and standardise tutors’ competencies in integrating ICT into classroom practice. The study further proposes a context-responsive training model for colleges of education that promotes autonomous utilisation of ICTs in different lecture rooms which should be shared and enhanced in tutor collaboration activities.
Supervisor: Dr N Ndlovu
CHIZUWA, Miriro English
THESIS: White Writing and Childhood: A critical analysis of the representation of voice and identity in Zimbabwean literature
This thesis probes White writing in Zimbabwe, focusing on how the trope of childhood is deployed as a device to question, articulate and represent a variety of imaginaries, ideologies, politics and aesthetic predilections. Situating her rigorous interrogations of texts and genres within a broad intellectual community invested in the trajectories and particularities of Zimbabwean post-colonial identities, Miriro Chizuwa deftly demonstrates that in such a place/time (suffocated with too much history and bedeviled with violent but little progress) only new transversal politics inspired by storytelling enterprises that emphasize fluidity and multivocality might represent the much-needed historical redemption and renovation.
Supervisor: Professor R Muponde
DE VRIES, Lee-Ann Delarise
Interdisciplinary
THESIS: The (South) African Dream: A multidisciplinary study of notions of difference and self-presentation through an interrogation of South African soft power at the Grammys
Spanning sixty years of South African music in the U.S. market, this thesis investigates how South African artists navigate and present cultural identity within a commercially dominant industry. Centred on the Grammy Awards, it analyses the ways in which African music is framed for Western consumption, theorises the ‘co-sign’ as a mechanism of market access, and advocates for legislative and diplomatic interventions securing Africa’s epistemic freedom within global culture industries.
Supervisor: Dr C Duncan
DLAMINI, Sizakele Delight Psychology
THESIS: Mental Health of Adolescents in Rural Areas in Manzini, Eswatini
The candidate explored adolescent mental health in rural Eswatini. Using a mixed-methods approach, a 47.5% prevalence of psychological distress was found. Social support, resilience, and social capital emerged as key protective factors. The findings offer vital insights into psychosocial vulnerabilities faced by youth in low-resource settings and advocate for contextually relevant mental health interventions. This work makes a significant contribution to global adolescent mental health research, informing future policy and intervention development in similar contexts.
Supervisors: Associate Professor D Pillay and Professor M Marchetti-Mercer
DLODLO, Buhlebenkosi African Literature
THESIS: Liquid Violence in African and Afro-Diasporic Imaginaries
This dissertation explores the nexus of hydro-capitalist violence and artistic representation in Africa and its diasporas. It argues that artistic imaginaries make the disposability of Black lives across timelines framed by a capitalist continuum legible. Grounded in hydrocolonial frameworks, the dissertation interrogates the weaponization of water to produce harm for precarious communities. Artistic commentaries on such weaponization contest such liquid violence by crafting counter-archives that propose liveable lifeworlds, attentive to postcolonial, oceanic and environmental concerns across spatial and temporal scales.
Supervisor: Associate Professor G Musila
DUH, Florence Iwih Education
THESIS: Investigating the Determinants of WhatsApp Adoption and Usage for Educational Continuity during Crises: The Case of Displaced Students in Cameroon
This study advances educational technology adoption research by developing and validating an integrated model combining DOI, TAM, UTAUT, and TOE within the under-researched context of disadvantaged and displaced populations during crises. The findings show that social and people-related factors most strongly influence attitudes towards WhatsApp adoption, followed by technological and environmental factors, while organisational factors are least influential. Attitude significantly predicts WhatsApp adoption, offering practical insights for inclusive, low-cost distance learning strategies in emergency contexts.
Supervisor: Associate Professor R Dlamini
EARLE, Katarina Education
THESIS: Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the importance and use of Picture Storybooks in the Foundation Phase
Drawing on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory; Gee and Bourdieu’s concepts of Discourse and Habitus, this study investigated undergraduate student-teachers’ perceptions of the importance and use of Picture Storybooks in the Foundation Phase. The study contributed necessary knowledge in the field to understand future teachers’ positionality to the teaching of Picture Storybooks. Interaction with the student teachers revealed the importance of understanding students’ background to reading, to address continuing inequity to reading skills in Foundation Phase. Important findings for teacher training institutions and early childhood education.
Supervisor: Associate Professor T Nkambule
GABANTESE, Kamogelo Alecia
THESIS: The Coloniality of Gender: A decolonial examination of the effects of gender-based violence on women’s reproductive health and sexual rights
The candidate deployed decoloniality as a theoretical framework to examine how gender-based violence consigns women to the status of colonised and exploited beings. Qualitative methodology was employed as a science to examine the lived experiences of violated women who are domiciled in selected shelters in Johannesburg. The study makes compelling contributions to Decoloniality, Critical Diversity studies, and the social justice cause for the liberation of women from the enduring coloniality of gender and patriarchy in the Global South.
Supervisor: Dr J Mpofu
GANI, Salma Psychology
THESIS: Exploring the relationships between adjustment to university, coping and mental health among first-year students at a South African university
This study demonstrates that first-year adjustment is shaped not only by academic stress, but by the interplay of mental health, coping, and support systems. It highlights the role of self-belief and social support in reducing stress, fostering healthy coping, and enabling adjustment. While academic demands can undermine mental health, these effects are not inevitable. With effective coping strategies and support, students can adapt and succeed. This PhD offers an evidence-based framework to inform more responsive and equitable university policies and practices.
Supervisors: Professor S Laher and Dr T Hassem
HANSA, Sameera Education
THESIS: Intermediate Phase Learners’ Calculation Approaches to Multiplicative Tasks: Insights from Grades 4 and 6
The candidate’s doctoral study examines how Grade 4 and 6 learners in South Africa approach multiplicative tasks, with attention to the efficiency of their calculation strategies. Employing a mixedmethods design, the research moves beyond correctness to analyse learners’ underlying reasoning across symbolic and contextual tasks. The thesis introduces a refined Efficiency Framework that makes a substantive contribution to understanding multiplicative reasoning in the Intermediate Phase. Examiners praised the work for its originality and strong potential to inform curriculum and teaching practice.
Supervisors: Professor H Venkatakrishnan, Associate Professor A Essien and Professor M Askew
HASS, Atrimecia Bernadate Education
THESIS: Assessing the Commitment of Writing Centre Stakeholders at Macro, Meso and Micro Levels: A Social Realist Sustainable Approach
This study examines the role of writing centres in South African higher education, focusing on their integration within universities. Using a qualitative approach and social realist framework, it explores stakeholder commitment at macro, meso, and micro levels to ensure academic literacy development. The findings indicate that structural and cultural constraints hinder their integration. Although lecturers and students exercise agency to promote a sustainable model, institutional change remains constrained, resulting largely in morphostasis, with some evidence of morphogenesis through collaborative practices.
Supervisors: Associate Professor L Dison and Associate Professor I Fouche
HAYNES-ROLANDO, Hayley Lisa Psychology
THESIS: Affecting Change: A Psychosocial Study of Community Psychology Praxis and Youth Belonging in YOTS, Dobsonville Soweto
Grounded in critical community psychology, affect theory, and psychosocial perspectives, this study explored the emotional and relational experiences of youth participating in the Youth of the South (YOTS) project, a participatory action research (PAR) initiative with adolescents in Dobsonville, Soweto. Findings show that the YOTS group model fosters an environment of reflective dialogue, mutual care, and communal belonging, enabling youth to articulate concerns often unheard in formal structures and to develop a shared sense of agency amidst precarity.
Supervisor: Associate Professor P Kiguwa
KHAN, Jamil Farouk
Critical Diversity Studies
THESIS: Quilted Consciousness of Creolised South Africans: A comparative narrative analysis of Coloured lived experiences across South Africa
This qualitative study explores the life history narratives of Coloured people across South Africa to understand how location, as a function of apartheid spatial planning, impacts how people make sense of their racialisation. Dr Khan’s findings show that in each location, Colouredness was defined and expressed through different material and social markers. However, fundamental overlaps in histories and experiences produce a fragmented, but shared sense of racial consciousness, which this research names Quilted Consciousness.
Supervisor: Professor M Steyn
KHOZA, Sibongile Ethel Translation and Interpreting
THESIS: Translating medical borrowed words and eponyms for lay users: Strategies, acceptability, and suggestions
This study is in the intersection of translation studies and terminology development and assesses the acceptability - from the perspective of lay-users - of translated eponyms and borrowed words (chiefly from Latin and Greek). Medical terminology from English into Siswati is in the spotlight in this project, with a special focus on the opinions of lay-users vis-a-vis those of professional translators in terms of the most acceptable translations from the point of view of target-audience adequacy.
Supervisors: Professor A Leal and Dr C Dladla
LOON, Maya
THESIS: Into the Woods: Mothering and anxiety in middle-class Johannesburg
Media Studies
This thesis examines anxiety among middle-class mothers in Johannesburg, exploring whether their concerns are uniquely South African or globally shared. Framed by class, race, neoliberal capitalism and persistent gender inequality, it investigates how mothering anxiety is both visible and concealed. The study analyses two landscapes: digital spaces, focusing on Instagram and Facebook representations, and physical, family-oriented urban spaces shaped by notions of self and Other. It argues that mothering anxiety is ultimately about identity, belonging and neoliberal pressures.
Supervisor: Professor N Falkof
MAKUYANA, Luck
THESIS: The Politics and Poetics of Dams in Southern African Texts
Literature
This thesis maps the imprint of dams on the southern African imaginative terrain, arguing that creative works provide deep insight into the paradoxes of hydro-modernization. Using the approach of hydrocolonialism, the thesis directs attention to the material, embodied and affective investments associated with dams across species and temporalities in a range of films and novels. Combined, these creative works avail a test-tube environment for surfacing the politics and poetics of dams in southern Africa.
Supervisor: Professor C Hofmeyr
MALESWENA, Tshepiso History
THESIS: Beyond the Shadow: Reclaiming Women’s Voices in the Black Consciousness Movement
The thesis critically examines the exclusion of Black women in liberation historiography, specifically in the dominant narratives of the Black Consciousness Movement from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews, and framed in Black Feminist Theory, the thesis reconstructs the biographies of three generations of Black women activists whose leadership and intellectual contributions shaped Black Consciousness organisations. By placing underrepresented Black women at the centre of her analysis, Maleswena challenges conventional male-centric narratives and provides original interpretations of South Africa’s liberation historiography.
Supervisor: Professor M Nieftagodien
MARSHAL, Treesa Mary English
THESIS: Anti-Bildungs Potentials in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions Trilogy: Women, Trauma, Place
The candidate’s doctoral research examines Tsitsi Dangarembga’s trilogy through the lens of the anti-Bildungsroman. Her work explores how colonialism, gender, trauma, and ideas of unhu shape belonging, identity, and personal development in contemporary African literature.
Supervisor: Dr K Van Wyk
MOKOLOPENG, Boitumelo Canady Education
THESIS: Re-conceptualizing Drama-in-Education as a therapeutic pedagogy: A collaborative inquiry with young people into matters of mental health and well-being in a classroom
This study explored the interconnection between Drama-in-Education and Mental Health Education through the perspectives of posthumanism. A post-qualitative participatory inquiry conducted with young people at a secondary school revealed how Drama-in-Education as a therapeutic pedagogy can nurture collective and mutual care to support learners’ emotional well-being. Grounded in the ethics of care, the study’s findings were translated into a newly developed pedagogical framework that connects creativity, imagination, spontaneity and embodiment.
Supervisors: Dr S Bhebhe and Dr T Giorza
MOLETSANE, Otshepeng Edmond African Languages and Linguistics
THESIS: A Lingustic Deconstruction of Plaatjes Setswana Proverbs and Literal Translations
The candidate used a Critical Discourse Analysis, with a specific focus on Historical Discourse Analysis. The qualitative research design was used, and a purposive sample of 60 proverbs was selected for detailed analysis. The investigation explored the orthography, translations, classification, functions, structural patterns, meanings, gender representations, and cultural contexts embedded in the selected proverbs. The findings demonstrate that Plaatje’s collection was not merely a compilation of traditional sayings but a deliberate effort to document and validate Setswana intellectual traditions.
Supervisor: Dr K Theledi
MOTLHAMME,
Mojuta Steven
History
THESIS: Ethnicity, Nationhood and Chieftaincy in a Rural World: The Story of Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope of Bophuthatswana, 1923-1994.
This doctoral thesis offers a richly researched and conceptually nuanced political biography of Kgosi Lucas Mangope, tracing his rise, rule, and eventual overthrow within the broader history of Bophuthatswana. Drawing on oral and archival sources, the thesis moves beyond reductive representations to illuminate Mangope’s agency, political vision, and contradictions, while critically engaging the politics of ethnicity, development, and power under apartheid. This study makes an important contribution to scholarship and the historiography of Bantustans and African leadership.
Supervisors: Associate Professor S Lekgoathi and Associate Professor N Ramoupi
MOTSAMAI-BOTHASITSE, Mabel K
Education
THESIS: Exploring the functionality of the Botswana Open University Internal Quality Assurance System in adopting Open Distance and e-Learning
This study examined the effect of Internal Quality Assurance Systems (IQAS) on the adoption of Open, Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) at Botswana Open University. Using a convergent parallel mixed methods design, the study found that traditional quality assurance mechanisms alone do not guarantee effective e-learning implementation; success depends on responsive policies, resource allocation and pedagogical alignment to e-learning delivery. It recommends an adaptive IQAS, strengthened digital learner support, continuous capacity building, evidence-based decision-making, ongoing monitoring and feedback mechanisms for ODeL.
Supervisor: Dr N Ndlovu
MOYO, Clayton Media
Studies
THESIS: Mediating the Sexual Identity of a Nation in Zimbabwe: Mainstream and Social Media Discourses on Queer Sexualities
This study examines how sexuality operates as a political site within postcolonial nation-building in Zimbabwe. Analysing representations in The Herald newspaper and on Twitter (2010-2020), it explores how queer identities are framed within national discourse. Using discourse analysis and queer theory, the study reveals enduring narratives of cultural nativism and heteronormative nationalism alongside emergent queer subjectivities. It shows how media both reinforce and destabilise hegemonic national imaginaries, exposing tensions over citizenship, legitimacy andbelonging in Zimbabwe.
Supervisor: Professor N Falkof
NGOH, Doris Nzole Sone
Education
THESIS: The experiences of African immigrant learners learning an indigenous South African language in three public schools in Gauteng province
This thesis by the candidate presents qualitative findings on the experiences of 12 African immigrant learners learning an indigenous South African language, in this case isiZulu First Additional Language, in three public schools in Gauteng. The findings reveal structural, cultural, linguistic, academic and social challenges to immigrant learning but also highlight learners’ agencies and identity reconstruction strategies. Based on the findings, the study proposes an Immigrant Responsive Pedagogy (IRP) framework for indigenous language education in multilingual contexts.
Supervisors: Associate Professor N Nkealah and Associate Professor I Fouche
THESIS: Early Intervention for Children who are Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing in the South African ContextFrom Policy to Practice
Through a comprehensive examination of policy-to-practice translation, the candidate’s study offers critical insights into early intervention for deaf and hard of hearing children. Her work identifies systemic gaps, informs policy reform, and strengthens the evidence base for equitable service delivery in LMIC contexts.
Supervisors: Professor K Khoza-Shangase and Associate Professor A Kanji
RACHAMOSE, Ngokwana Claudit
Psychology
THESIS: The mental health of maternal primary caregivers of children living with cerebral palsy in rural communities of the Limpopo Province, South Africa
This qualitative exploratory contextual study interviewed ten maternal primary caregivers on their experiences of mental health related to caregiving for children living with cerebral palsy in rural areas in South Africa. It was found that these caregivers endure significant mental health challenges due to various interconnected factors-physical, financial, social, emotional, and spiritual. Caregivers were found to have access to informal support systems from family, community, and faith networks that facilitate their caregiving experiences. These support systems, however, need to be strengthened and maintained.
Supervisor: Associate Professor C Harvey
ROE-BERNING, Shelley Erin Psychology
THESIS: Personal Constructions of Recovery in Rape Survivors: A study of meaning-making and recovery in the subjective accounts of adult female survivors of rape
Using a mixed methods approach, an investigation was conducted into a group of South African women survivors’ experiences in relation to recovery from rape and gender-based violence. With the main emphasis on narrative analysis of interview data from six participants, a framework for understanding what enabled longer term recovery was generated. Various dimensions of rape impact require distinct, if inter-linked, recovery tasks, centering around identity work and meaning making. Recovery requires conscious effortful engagement and validating, interpersonal support.
Supervisors: Professor G Eagle and Dr Y Esprey
SEFOLOSHE, Lerato
THESIS: The Morphosyntactic Development of Agreement Patterns in L1 Setswana Speaking Children and 3rd Person Marking in L2 English Speaking Sequential Bilinguals
This study explores the morphosyntactic development of Setswana-English bilinguals, providing valuable insights into bilingual language acquisition. Her research offers a deeper understanding of how indigenous languages interact with English in South Africa, highlighting the complexities and strengths of bilingual learners. The study’s rigorous methodology and thoughtful analysis set a new standard for work in this field, and its findings have significant implications for linguistics and education.
Supervisor: Associate Professor R Kunene Nicolas
SHAIKJEE, Fazel
THESIS: Exploring Digital Teaching and Learning Strategies for Bridging the Digital Divide in Less Resourced Secondary Schools in South Africa
This qualitative thesis explores digital teaching and learning strategies to bridge inequalities between less resourced and affluent secondary schools in South Africa. Guided by the Resources and Appropriation Theory, it examines how under-resourced schools can leverage digital tools to enhance teaching and learning and reduce the digital disparities. The study contributes to empirical research on ICT in education by identifying practical strategies that disadvantaged schools can adopt to promote more equitable digital access and meaningful pedagogical integration.
Supervisor: Associate Professor R Dlamini
SHUPING, Reoikantse Lucrucia African Languages and Linguistics
THESIS: Phetogo ya kalego e e tsweletseng ya borutapuo mo Aforikaborwa mo ngwagakgolong wa 21
In her thesis, the candidate used qualitative method to qualify data collected from the 1st year students’ activities and sociolinguistics approach to investigate the ongoing changes of Setswana orthography that cause instability and inconsistency between communities, as standardized orthography can sometimes be perceived as an imposition of one dialect over another. The findings is that students confuse spoken and written language when they write their assessments. Hence, achieving orthographic stability will require continued collaboration between language experts, and Setswana-speaking community.
Supervisor: Dr K Theledi
SIBANDA, Nyamadzawo Migration and Displacement
THESIS: Infrapolitics of Migrant Integration within South African Urban Socio-economic Spaces
This phenomenographic doctoral study examines how migrants and non-migrants perceive, negotiate, and sustain everyday cohabitation in urban socio-economic spaces. Findings distinguish restrictive public discourse from resilient lived realities, and reveal evolving, context-bound strategies and socialspatial transformations forging coexistence and belonging. The study extends integration debates with new lenses and foregrounds South Africa’s urban histories, institutions, and trajectories shaping incorporation.
Supervisor: Dr J Misago
TSHIDI, Mashite Education
THESIS: Optimising personalised learning through learning analytics for student engagement and performance in South African higher education
This study explores how learning analytics and personalised learning can be used to improve student engagement and academic performance in South African higher education. Using student learning data and interviews with educational practitioners, the research examined how datainformed teaching approaches can better support diverse student needs. The study resulted in the development of the Data-informed Personalised Engagement Model (DiPEM), a framework designed to help institutions use learning analytics to support student success, timely intervention, and more equitable learning experiences.
Supervisor: Dr A Dewa
TUSINGWIRE,
THESIS: The Role of Higher Education Technology Shaping in Academics’ Pedagogical Practices
The thesis examines how social shaping of technology influences academic pedagogical practices, highlighting challenges like digitized control and tech complexities in higher education. It recommends reframing innovations through accountability, participatory governance, and building localized innovation ecosystems. The study advances the social shaping of technology perspective by proposing higher education technologies shaping (HETS), viewing educational technologies as active, contested participants shaping routines and knowledge, not neutral tools. The complementary higher education technologies shaping knowledge model (HETSKM) can contribute to decolonizing tech adoption and guide equitable digitalisation of higher education in African contexts.
Supervisors: Associate Professor L Abrahams and Dr N Hoosen
VILANCULOS, Esmeralda Psychology
THESIS: Prolonged Father-Son Separation and Subsequent Reunion: Exploring the Experiences of Black Fathers and Sons in Gauteng Province, South Africa
Father absence is widespread among Black South African families, yet little is known about fatherson reunions after prolonged separations. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of eleven Black fathers and their adult sons in Gauteng, focusing on separation, searching, reunion and reconciliation. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, the study reveals that sons long for paternal emotional connection, while fathers strive to repair past absence. Reunions were emotionally charged, highlighting the need for accountability, dialogue and culturally sensitive healing spaces.
Supervisors: Professor C Langa and Dr P Gerrand
WADEE, Faaizah Psychology
THESIS: Organisational culture, remote working and employee wellbeing
This thesis presents a rigorous and original investigation into how pandemic-driven remote working reshapes organisational culture and employee well-being in South Africa. Through a carefully executed mixed-methods design, it highlights organisational trust as a central mechanism shaping employee experience. The study makes a significant contribution to organisational psychology, offering both conceptual insight and practical relevance for organisations navigating the future of work.
Supervisor: Associate Professor K Milner
YINGWANA, Ntokozo Sibahle Migration and Displacement
THESIS: Queering Sex Work and Mobility in South Africa: How Does Migration and Mobility Influence Gendered Sexualities in Sex Work?
The candidate’s doctoral research offers an original and groundbreaking exploration of the intersections of sex work, migration, mobility, gender, sexuality, and citizenship in South Africa. Drawing on the lived experiences of migrant and mobile sex workers, this study advances new understandings of how movement shapes gendered sexualities and belonging. By queering conventional approaches to sex work and citizenship, the thesis makes a significant contribution to migration studies, sexuality studies, and African scholarship.
Supervisor: Professor L Nunez Carrasco
THESIS: Examining the translation of science pre-service teachers’ pck from one pck realm to another in an online teaching and learning environment
This study demonstrated effective approaches for preparing teachers to design digital lessons, particularly instructional videos, that transform scientific content pedagogically to support learner understanding while maintaining the epistemological integrity of the discipline. The research makes a significant contribution to science teacher education by advancing understanding of digital-Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (digital-TSPCK). It further presents an innovative framework for developing digitally competent science teachers, with important implications for contemporary teacher education in South Africa and internationally.
Supervisor: Professor M Mavhunga
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
DEAN: PROFESSOR N CHETTY BSc Hons (Natal) MS PhD (U. Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
MASSAf MSAIP MRSSA
Doctor of Philosophy
ABDULLA, Naaziyah Molecular and Cell Biology
THESIS: Delineating the role of cholesterol in colorectal cancer progression and CD8+ T-lymphocyte functionality in a South African patient cohort
The thesis investigated cholesterol metabolism as a key immunometabolic regulator in colorectal cancer progression and immune evasion within a South African context. Employing patient-derived organoid and CD8 T-lymphocyte co-cultures, the candidate identified stage-specific metabolic dependencies and demonstrated that cholesterol modulation, particularly with 2-hydroxypropyl-cyclodextrin (HPCD), can enhance anti-tumour immunity and reprogram immune-cold tumours towards a state of responsiveness.
Supervisor: Professor M Kaur
AHMED, Alhussein Mohamed Alhussein Computational and Applied Mathematics
THESIS: Symmetries, conservation laws, solitons and numerical analysis for classes of PDEs in applications
This thesis investigates classes of nonlinear partial differential equations arising in applied mathematics and physics. It employs symmetry analysis, conservation laws, soliton theory, and numerical methods to derive exact and approximate solutions. Applications include heat transfer through fins, chemotaxis models, and nonlinear wave equations, providing insights into the analytical structure, physical behaviour, and computational modelling of complex systems.
Supervisors: Professor R Moitsheki and Professor A Kara
BEUKES, Philip Rudolph Physics
THESIS: Radiation protection basis of design for the South African isotope facility
The thesis examines the radiological protection basis of design for the brownfield redevelopment of a legacy hadron therapy facility into a cyclotrondriven radioisotope production facility. By integrating Monte Carlo simulations, insitu radiation measurements and riskbased engineering, it characterises prompt radiation sources, validates shielding performance and optimises structural shielding and labyrinth design. The work delivers ALARAcompliant solutions, supports regulatory assurance and advances the safe, sustainable production of radioisotopes for nuclear medicine applications in highintensity accelerator environments.
Supervisor: Professor M Wiedeking
CHAUKE, Hleko Chemistry
THESIS: Development of graphene-based SERS substrate for monitoring levels of glucose and cholesterol
This study advances highly sensitive chemical sensing technologies by developing graphene and silver nanostructures for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that silver nanowires significantly improve glucose and cholesterol detection, while highlighting graphene as a viable alternative sensing platform. These findings contribute to the development of more accurate, accessible diagnostic and analytical tools.
Supervisors: Dr S Nyembe, Professor L Sikhwivhilu and Professor N Moloto
CHIILA, Litruda
Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies
THESIS: Perspectives on adaptive strategies to climate change and variability among the youth in street situations in Lusaka’s central business district in Zambia
This study investigated the myriad ways in which changes in climate variability impact the youth in street situations (YISS) in Lusaka’s CBD and how they respond in building their adaptive capacity and resilience. The findings suggest that the YISS are not passive actors but are actively involved in responding to climate change challenges through the deployment of various assets such as social networks.
Supervisors: Professor D Simatele and Dr E Imasiku
DAKA, Chisomo Physics
THESIS: Variational quantum convolutional neural network framework for near-term quantum-classical simulations. “Applications in simulation of diamond NV center Hamiltonian, quantum phase recognition and quantum-enhanced image classification”
This research advances quantum computing and machine learning through the development of the novel quantum convolutional neural network (No-QCNN) framework. By conceptualising a quantum ready QML workflow that addresses NISQ-era constraints, this work demonstrates practical quantum utility using noise-resilient, physics-informed variational quantum circuits. The framework successfully models diamond NV center dynamics, detects criticality and topological phases in manybody systems, and enhances low-data image classification through implicit regularisation. This thesis establishes hybrid quantum-classical architectures as viable pathways toward scalable quantumnative computation.
Supervisor: Professor S Bhattacharyya
DLAMINI, Sibusiso Trevor
Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences
THESIS: Soil microbial dynamics in response to fire and warming in Afromontane Grassland of South Africa
This thesis investigated how fire and global warming shape plant-microbial interactions in South Africa’s high altitude Maloti-Drakensberg grasslands. Through long term experiments, it reveals how soil microbes, carbon processes, and grasses respond to fire and warming. By showing how resilience is sustained from microbes to grass species, this research advances ecological understanding and informs climate adaptive conservation of these vital mountain ecosystems.
Supervisors: Dr S Situngu and Dr M te Beest
GERBER, Jacques Geology, Palaeontology and Geophysics
THESIS: Quality of preserved microanatomical structures in fossilised woody material
Scanning electron microscopy of selected fossil woods from different ages and types of preservation showed that plasmodesmata were very rarely preserved in plants. Charcoal buried under anoxic conditions was found to be best at preserving cell wall surfaces. Thermal spring travertine preserved calcite leaf endocasts also preserved plasmodesmal pits. A pyrolysed wood from the Permian confirmed the unique anatomy of the group that was the major component of southern hemisphere coals.
Supervisor: Professor M Bamford
GOMO, Sikelela
Geology, Palaeontology and Geophysics
THESIS: Tackling select mining challenges using near-surface geophysical imaging
This thesis evaluates near-surface geophysics to enhance subsurface understanding, safety, and operational efficiency in challenging mining conditions. Integrated geophysical data, including magnetics, seismics, resistivity, and ground-penetrating radar, reduce geological uncertainty, delineate hazards, and support decision-making. Research conducted at mines in the Bushveld Complex and Witwatersrand Basin validates these approaches.
Supervisors: Professor G Cooper, Associate Professor M Manzi and Dr R Durrheim
GOVENDER, Verona
Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences
THESIS: Floral factors influencing pollinator visitation and efficacy in selected species of grass aloes, and the role of colour in pollinator-driven diversification in aloes
Pollinator-mediated floral evolution in threatened grass aloes, integrating ecological and macroevolutionary analyses, is the focus of this study. While floral traits shape pollinator interactions and reproductive success, outcomes are dependent on temporal variability, antagonistic interactions, and fire disturbance. Flower colour in Aloe reflects ecological flexibility rather than directional, pollinatordriven macroevolutionary change.
Supervisors: Associate Professor G Goodman and Professor E Witkowski
HARTMAN, Raymond Michael
Molecular and Cell Biology
THESIS: Structural and functional insights into the TBR1 DNA-binding domain: crystallisation with DNA and FOXP2 FHD
The research provides a molecular characterisation of how transcription factors TBR1 and FOXP2 regulate DNA binding. Integrating structural biology, biophysics, and computational modeling, demonstrated subtle allosteric changes within TBR1 influence partner interactions. This work establishes a mechanistic framework for understanding how regulatory disruptions contribute to complex neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. Ultimately, these findings provide a vital foundation for future advances in molecular neurogenetics and precision genomic medicine research.
Supervisor: Associate Professor S Fanucchi
IDRIS AHMAD, Ismail Abdalla Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies
THESIS: Urbanisation and surface urban heat island dynamics in a hot-arid region: an earth observation study of Khartoum State, Sudan
Rapid urbanisation in Khartoum State, Sudan, has intensified urban thermal stress in its hot-arid environment. Using multi-temporal EO data (1982-2025) and GEE, this study analysed urban growth, land surface temperature, SUHI intensity, blue-green infrastructure effects, and thermal discomfort. Results show rapid built-up expansion, increasing summer temperatures, and worsening heat stress. Water bodies provided stronger cooling effects than vegetation, while bare land exhibited the highest temperatures. The findings support climate-responsive urban planning and targeted heat mitigation strategies in arid cities.
Supervisor: Professor E Adam
KABISA, Mulako
Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences
THESIS: Exploring preferable nature futures for biodiversity and climate governance in the Barotse cultural landscape
This study explored visions of nature futures in the Barotse Cultural Landscape of Zambia using the Nature Futures Framework. It showed that co-produced qualitative narratives can have plural values that integrate indigenous and local knowledge for potentially transformative pathways that meet biodiversity and climate aspirations in social-ecological systems.
Supervisors: Professor L Pereira and Associate Professor G Karuri-Sebina
KADER, Zubayr
Molecular and Cell Biology
THESIS: Genomic analysis of South African colorectal cancer patient samples using whole genome sequencing and RNA sequencing
Colorectal cancer (CRC) continues to exhibit an increase in local and global incidence, yet a notable research gap exists for African genomic databases. The study aims to address the research gap through generation and analysis of Whole Genome and RNA sequencing data of local South African patient tissue samples to elucidate the molecular landscape of CRC, as well as discover novel potential biomarkers.
Supervisors: Professor M Kaur, Associate Professor A Choudhury and Professor C Kinnear
LAWRIE, Graham David Physics
THESIS: The study of the neutral hydrogen content of galaxies across cosmic time
This thesis investigates the neutral hydrogen content of galaxies across cosmic time to trace galaxy evolution. Utilising the MeerKAT radio telescope, the research identifies a local galaxy group serendipitously, and achieves the highest-redshift detection of HI emission at z~0.725 via gravitational lensing. Additionally, it highlights commensal radio continuum science by characterising the diffuse radio halo in Abell 370.
Supervisor: Professor R Deane
LE ROUX, Wilhelm Heinrich Chemistry
THESIS: Investigating metal-polymer composites for the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction
Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was investigated as a sustainable alternative binder for the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The study first examined PVA-based hydrogels to assess their influence on substrate-driven HER activity. Subsequently the focus shifted to PVA films, evaluating how the molecular weight and loading of the polymer, together with the electrocatalyst composition (noble versus nonnoble), affected electrochemical performance. Overall, this work broadened the binder “toolbox” and advanced development in the field.
Supervisors: Dr A Falch, Dr R Pfukwa and Professor JJ Weigand
MAAKE, Reabetswe Molecular and Cell Biology
THESIS: Structural and functional insight into Klebsiella pneumoniae protein adenylyltransferase through biophysical and computational modelling analysis: a proof of concept
This thesis characterised protein adenylyltransferase from Klebsiella pneumoniae (KpPrAT) using biochemical, spectroscopic, thermodynamic, and computational approaches. The study examined its structure, ligand binding, thermostability, conformational dynamics, and catalytic activity. Findings confirmed the enzyme’s AMPylation capability and demonstrated its potential role in regulating posttranslational modification, supporting future therapeutic-targeting studies.
Supervisor: Associate Professor I Achilonu
MACUNGO, Zanildo Augusto
Geology, Palaeontology and Geophysics
THESIS: The early evolution of Gorgonopsia (Therapsida, Synapsida), new data from the middle Permian of South Africa and early late Permian of Mozambique
This thesis reassesses the early evolution, diversification, and macroevolutionary history of gorgonopsians through new fossil discoveries, phylogenetic analyses, and quantitative comparative methods. It demonstrates that large-bodied and ecologically diverse gorgonopsians evolved earlier than previously recognised, fundamentally redefining their role in Permian terrestrial ecosystems across Gondwana before the end-Permian mass extinction.
Supervisor: Associate Professor J Benoit and Professor R Arajo
MAGAGULA, Sebenzile Pretty Engelinah Physics
THESIS: Indirect experimental method for constraining the 193,194Ir(n,y) cross sections and s-process branching point 192Ir
This work focused on calculating the neutron capture cross sections and Maxwellian averaged cross sections of the 193,194 Iridium isotopes. The cross sections were constrained using gamma-ray strength functions and nuclear level densities extracted through the Oslo method. These statistical nuclear properties were then incorporatedinto the Hauser-Feshbach formalism to compute the neutron capture cross sections. The resulting Maxwellian averaged cross sections were subsequently applied in astrophysical calculations to predict the overproduction of the s-only platinum isotopes. Notably, this study reduced the model uncertainty in the overproduction of the 192Pt isotope by up to 20%.
Supervisor: Professor M Wiedeking, Associate Professor L Pellegri and Professor BV Kheswa
MAGOLEGO, Isaac Selaelo Physics
THESIS: MeerKAT’s view of galaxy clusters in the South Pole Telescope 100 square degree deep field survey
This thesis presents a comprehensive study of diffuse radio emission in galaxy clusters using deep MeerKAT observations of the South Pole Telescope survey. It reports the discovery of two ultra-steep spectrum radio halos, including the highest-redshift example known, and a radio relic in a low-mass merging cluster. Statistical upper-limit analysis provides new constraints on their occurrence. These results extend the known parameter space of cluster-scale synchrotron emission, support turbulencedriven particle acceleration models, and led to discovery papers in MNRAS letters.
Supervisors: Professor R Deane and Dr K Thorat
MAMPANE, Lizzie Chemistry
THESIS: Synthesis of two-dimensional graphitic carbon nitride and tungsten disulfide nanomaterials for applications in electrochemical sensing, adsorption, photocatalysis, and RO desalination membrane
The thesis investigates the controlled synthesis of few-layer g-C3N4 and monolayer WS2 nanosheets, evaluating their enhanced electrochemical, photocatalytic, and filtration properties, with WS showing superior catalytic performance and scalability for water treatment.
Supervisors: Professor N Moloto and Professor L Sikhwivhilu
MARAKALLA, Paballo Marry
Geology, Palaeontology and Geophysics
THESIS: Assessment of radon and associated radionuclides in the vicinity of gold and coal mines, South Africa
This research quantified radon, a radioactive gas of significant health concern, in gold mining areas of the Gauteng Province and coal mining regions of the Mpumalanga Province where the status of public exposure was largely unknown. The study identified key factors influencing indoor radon concentrations, developed models describing the relationship between uranium and radon, established seasonal adjustment factors, produced regional indoor radon maps and assessed public radiological exposures to support radiological risk assessment and inform regulatory decision-making for radiological protection.
Supervisor: Professor T Abiye
MLILO, Trust
Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies
THESIS: Indigenous voices, collective memory and heritage management on the Makgabeng and Mapungubwe Cultural landscape in South Africa
The study sought to highlight gaps in implementing decoloniality and indigeneity approaches within South African heritage management. The research also explored indigenous perspectives. Additionally, it examined decolonisation of nomenclature and its connection with indigenous cultural practices. It employed qualitative and quantitative methods using two case studies. The research highlighted that the implementation of these concepts is problematic, and coloniality persists.
Supervisors: Dr C Namono and Dr N Ndlovu
MOODLEY, Dylan
Molecular and Cell Biology
THESIS: Synthetic reconstruction of the cannabinoid biosynthetic pathway in Komagataella phaffii
This research reconstructed the cannabinoid biosynthetic pathway in Komagataella phaffii using 2A-mediated polycistronic expression, enabling the production of olivetolic acid and cannabigerolic acid. Additionally, a novel cannabidiolic acid synthase from the Swazi Gold Cannabis sativa landrace was characterised, providing insights into cannabinoid biosynthesis, enzyme characterisation and microbial metabolic engineering.
Supervisor: Dr A Botes
MOYO, Mthokozisi Shelton
Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences
THESIS: Wet-dry seasonality as a selective force and driver of ecosystem processes in Africa
Wet-dry seasonality drives ecological structure and function in African ecosystems, shaping species traits, community composition and vegetation patterns. The study evaluates seasonality metrics and their spatial patterns across the continent. It examines functional traits associated with seasonal water limitation across taxa, and how species composition and vegetation distribution respond to variation in seasonality and rainfall.
Supervisors: Professor S Archibald, Associate Professor J Muvengwi and Professor R Scholes
MPATANI, Ongeziwe Physics
THESIS: Optical properties and hyperfine interactions in Si- and Fe-doped InxGa1-xN
InxGa1-xN is a versatile III-V alloy with a tunable band gap, widely used in optoelectronic devices. This study investigates the effects of Fe doping in In0.10Ga0.90N (and InxGa1-xN N at different concentration), focusing on lattice sites, charge states, and magnetic properties using emission Mssbauer spectroscopy. It also explores how alloying and Si doping affect the optical properties of InxGa1-xN thin films, highlighting their roles in enhancing electronic properties while addressing potential disorder and its impact on carrier localisation and dynamics.
Supervisor: Dr H Masenda
MPHEPHU, Rotondwa Chemistry
THESIS: Synthesis and catalytic applications of Ruthenium(II) and Nickela(II) pyrazolyl-pyridine complexes in dehydrogenation, transfer hydrogenation and water oxidation reactions
This thesis investigated the design and application of Ruthenium(II) and Nickel(II) complexes in sustainable energy-related transformations, with a focus on formic acid dehydrogenation, transfer hydrogenation of ammonia borane, and electrochemical water oxidation. The study provides insights into the catalyst structure, activity and reaction mechanisms. The findings contribute to the development of efficient catalytic systems for hydrogen generation, hydrogen transfer processes and renewable energy conversion, advancing the role of transition metal complexes in addressing global energy and sustainability challenges.
Supervisor: Associate Professor A Swarts
MUDEDE, Marko Freddy Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences
THESIS: Mapping the impact of the polyphagous shot hole borer (Euwallacea fornicatus) on infested and vulnerable urban trees using remote sensing in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa
The candidate investigated the value of Citizen Science, Google Street View, and satellite remote sensing to detect, map and monitor Polyphagous shot hole borer, an introduced pest of trees in Johannesburg’s urban forests. The shot hole borer was first detectable in 2017 via Google Street View. Citizen Science effectively complements traditional pest surveillance, and satellite imagery allows monitoring of invasive pests and urban forest management.
Supervisors: Professor M Byrne, Professor K Abutaleb and Associate Professor S Newete
NDALISO, Xola Physics
THESIS: Neutral hydrogen and x-ray signatures of environmental impact on galaxies in denseenvironments
The thesis develops and validates a semi-automated pipeline for modelling the neutral hydrogen kinematics of galaxies using MeerKAT observations and cosmological simulations. Applying the pipeline to galaxies in the Abell 3408 cluster and its surrounding environments, the study investigates the impact of environment on galaxy evolution, identifies evidence of ram-pressure stripping, and examines galaxy scaling relations. The work provides a scalable framework for analysing the large datasets expected from current and future radio surveys.
Supervisors: Professor R Deane and Professor E Elson
NETSHIYA, Adivhaho Andrew Physics
THESIS: The photon strength functions from (p,) capture reactions
This thesis successfully utilised the Cr(p,)Mn proton-capture reactions to measure the Photon Strength Function (PSF) of Mn using the Average Resonance Proton Capture (ARPC) and Shape methods. The PSF was used as input in the Hauser-Feshbach statistical model to indirectly calculate Cr(p,) crosssections which agree with those measured directly. The study also reports 171 newly measured relative intensities, 46 newly assigned multipolarities and 37 newly observed levels.
Supervisors: Professor M Wiedeking and Associate Professor L Pellegri
NIEMANN, Hendrik Johannes Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences
THESIS: Where there’s smoke, there’s polyploidy: fire as a driver of genome size evolution in southern African Hypoxidaceae
This thesis highlighted fire’s key role in plant genome evolution. Integrating phylogenomics, genome size data, and experimental evidence, it demonstrates that fire can promote polyploid formation and persistence in southern African Hypoxidaceae, advancing our mechanistic understanding of species diversification in fire-prone ecosystems.
Supervisor: Associate Professor K Glennon
O’CONNOR, Ryan Chemistry
THESIS: Triplite (Mn2PO4F) as an efficient electrode material for Pseudocapacitors and zinc-ion batteries
This thesis investigates triplite manganese fluorophosphate (Mn2PO4F, MPF) as a versatile electrode material for aqueous energy storage. MPF is evaluated as a positive electrode in asymmetric supercapacitors, where surface modifications improve charge-transfer kinetics and cycling stability, and as a cathode in aqueous zinc-ion batteries, where it delivers exceptionally high capacity through a combination of bulk ion insertion, dissolution-deposition, and pseudocapacitive mechanisms. The work establishes MPF as a promising, low-cost fluorophosphate electrode adaptable in both highpower and high-energy electrochemical energy storage.
Supervisors: Professor K Ozoemena and Dr D Barrett
PALMER, Katharine Mary Mathematics
THESIS: The probabilities of mapping errors for different seeding algorithms in genetic sequence alignment: a combinatorial approach
This thesis uses combinatorial techniques such as transfer matrices and weighted generating functions to estimate the probabilities of certain mapping errors being produced by the seeding algorithms used in the alignment of genetic sequences. This results in the development of a computationally efficient method for estimating the probability of such alignment errors, catering for a range of modern seeding algorithms and underlying sequencing technologies. This has the potential to enable further optimisation of seeding algorithms.
Supervisor: Associate Professor M Archibald
RABBANI, Fehmida Qaddus
Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies
THESIS: Recycling in the city: itinerant informal recyclers in Johannesburg
This thesis explores the spatial practices and resilience of itinerant informal recyclers in Fietas, Johannesburg, during COVID-19. Through ethnographic methods, it reveals how their movements reconfigure urban space and challenge exclusion. The study reframes informal recyclers as agents of sustainability and calls for inclusive urban policies recognising their contributions to resilience and justice.
Supervisor: Dr A Wafer
RAMAREMISA, Gibbon Khathutshelo Chemistry
THESIS: Microplastics in water: determination of their occurrence, sources, distribution, and modelling of their physical-chemical behaviour
The research investigated the occurrence, sources, distribution, and physical-chemical properties of microplastics in tap water, groundwater, bottled water and beverages. Microplastics were detected mainly as PE, PET, and PP fibres. Further, experimental data from the adsorption of metals onto microplastics were used to calibrate PHREEQC-PEST models and simulate metal-microplastic interactions and environmental behaviour.
Supervisors: Dr D Saad and Professor H Tutu
RAMPJAPEDI, Maria Tebogo Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies
THESIS: Assessing the role of institutional & policy frameworks in the management of absorbent hygiene product waste in South Africa: a case study of the Polokwane Local Municipality
The study explored the institutional and policy frameworks for Absorbent Hygiene Product (AHP) waste management. It identified barriers that hinder sustainable practices of AHP waste management. The study proposed an urgent need to categorise AHP waste as a waste stream and develop targeted policy aligned with principles of 4R theory to achieve sustainable AHP waste management.
Supervisor: Professor D Simatele
RASAKANYA, William Tabudi Physics
THESIS: Exotic radio source morphologies in the MeerKAT-South Pole telescope UHF 100 square-degree survey
The research explores rare and unusual radio galaxies discovered using the MeerKAT radio telescope, revealing how supermassive black holes interact with their cosmic environments. By studying rare galaxy shapes, bent radio jets, and ancient radio emission across deep sky surveys, the research provides new insight into galaxy evolution, large-scale cosmic structures, and the growth of galaxy clusters in the early universe. The work also demonstrates the power of next-generation radio astronomy surveys to uncover previously hidden populations of galaxies.
Supervisors: Professor R Deane and Dr K Thorat
SEMANE, Shibre Sete Physics
THESIS: A WIMP dark matter search in dwarf galaxies of the local group using the MeerKAT telescope
The research covered one of the open problems in astrophysics and cosmology - the particle nature of dark-matter using the MeerKAT telescope. The work delivers the first MeerKAT constraints on darkmatter properties in dwarf-galaxies, establishes improved limits, advances the methodology for radio dark-matter searches, and lays important groundwork for the next-generation instruments like the Square Kilometre Array.
Supervisors: Dr G Beck and Dr S Makhathini
SIBIYA-ZULU, Nozipho Patience
Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences
THESIS: Understanding climate risks with local communities: the case of eMadlangeni, KwaZulu-Natal Climate change poses significant risks globally, particularly for rural communities, which face heightened vulnerability to extreme weather events. This research explores how Indigenous and Local Knowledge systems strengthen community resilience to climate-induced disasters in eMadlangeni, South Africa. Using qualitative methods, the study demonstrates that ILK is rooted in cultural, moral, and coping practices, evolving across generations. This thesis highlights the value of integrating indigenous, local, and scientific knowledge for inclusive, context-specific, effective disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation strategies.
Supervisors: Professor C Vogel and Dr C Mandikonza
TSEKELI, Tebogo Retsepire Chemistry
THESIS: Multi-functional roles of microwave irradiation on manganese-rich and lithium-manganeserich nickel manganese cobalt layered oxides as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries
This thesis demonstrates microwave irradiation as a powerful, sustainable, and cost-effective method for synthesising high-performance manganese-based lithium-ion battery cathodes. This approach significantly improves electrochemical properties, including cycling stability, energy density retention, and kinetics, while mitigating voltage decay and shortening synthesis times. It offers a crucial pathway for developing next-generation LIB materials.
Supervisors: Prof K Ozoemena and Dr A Haruna
TSHIVHASE, Fhatuwani Thomas
Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies
THESIS: Perspectives on license compliance and enforcement in sustaining the lifespan of landfills in South Africa: a study of the City of Tshwane, Gauteng Province
The study investigated landfill license compliance and enforcement in the City of Tshwane, South Africa. The findings suggest that poor governance systems coupled with weak implementation, limited capacity, lack of funding, and reactive enforcement reduce landfill lifespan.
Supervisors: Professor D Simatele and Dr N Kubanza
TSHIVHASE, Funani
Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies
THESIS: Assessing the impacts of flooding on informal settlements: a case study of Zakheleni Informal Settlements in Umlazi S-S3 Township, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
This thesis examines the socio-economic and environmental impacts of recurrent flooding in eThekwini's Zakheleni informal settlement. Using mixed-methods and geospatial mapping, the research highlights how systemic inequality and fragmented governance exacerbate community vulnerability. While residents employ localised coping mechanisms, institutional responses remain largely reactive and insufficient. The study advocates for a shift toward proactive, participatory governance that integrates community knowledge with infrastructural investment. Ultimately, it emphasises that sustainable resilience requires addressing the structural drivers of urban marginalisation and climate risk.
Supervisor: Dr N Kubanza
WRIGHT, Sarah Joy Chemistry
THESIS: The synthesis of cyclobutenones and their nucleophilic and annulation reactions
The study describes the synthesis of cyclobutenones, obtained through the [2+2]-cycloaddition reaction of alkynes and ketenes and their unusual nucleophilic reactions. Further derivatisation of the brominated-analogue via the Suzuki coupling reaction provided a novel route to cyclobutedienones. The candidate investigated transannular reactions of cyclobutenones, enroute to bicyclo[1.1.0] butanes, uncovering an unprecedented SmI2-induced cyclobutenone dimerisation.
Supervisors: Dr M Zimuwandeyi and Dr S Ntsimango
