Unisa Law alumnus is dedicated to serving Unisa's international students across the globe

A smile of triumph as Lindani Nkomo receives his Bachelor of Commerce in Law degree from Unisa on 12 March 2020.

Lindani Nkomo is a Student Representative Council (SRC) member of the Unisa Johannesburg Region who graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Law degree on 12 March 2020. He is currently pursuing an LLB degree.

Nkomo was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, where he completed his early education. He came to South Africa to resume his studies in 2009 at Mahlasedi High School, where he also served as a senior prefect. He obtained his matric with a bachelor’s degree admission and three distinctions. He was then accepted at Unisa.

His SRC role as a Sports and Cultural Officer gave him the opportunity to be exposed to different cultures from across the continent and to learn more about the South African culture. “In our term of office, we had set out to unite African students, and find a way to serve students who are based outside the country who do not have direct access to Regional Learning Centres,” he affirmed. His goal is to see the SRC taking a step towards setting up a portfolio dedicated to serve the international students to ensure access to everyone.

Nkomo believes that the SRC plays a very big role in an open, distance, and e-learning (ODeL) institution. It is the sole representative of the student community as one of the university stakeholders. He believes that capacity development must be intensified to ensure that student leaders are effective in their duty to represent students.

He plans to complete his LLB by 2022 and then enrol for a Master’s in Business Administration degree. This will assist him to champion development in his country. He takes interest in advocating for human rights and social injustices.

Unisa graduate and SRC member Lindani Nkomo with some of his fellow and former student leaders

His view on the state of higher education in South Africa

“Higher education space in this country is highly expensive and favours the privileged. We are still yet to see free quality education that will not discriminate against students based on their economic status. Our curriculum must be decolonised to give effect to the transformation of the legal sector and other critical areas in the economy that are currently exclusionary.

“Let us not waste too much energy, resources, and time fighting each other as student leaders; our fight is against one system. The enemy is one. Instead of fighting among ourselves, we must educate each other on effective ways of driving transformation. That allows us to learn from each other and grow.”

Life motto

Respect, humility, and love

Favourite quote

“The hardest lesson of my life has come to me late. It is that a nation can win freedom without its people becoming free.”–Joshua Nkomo

*Compiled by Nkululeko Mpakama, Electronic and Web Communication, College of Law