Under the theme “Reclaiming a Safer UFH For All”, the University of Fort Hare officially opened its University Gender Based Violence Prevention and Gender Diversity Office (GBVGD Office) at the East London campus at the Miriam Makeba Centre of Performing Arts, marking a significant step forward in its commitment to fostering a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment for all.
Opening the event and welcoming the guests, Nonhlanhla Sibanda Moyo, Director of the UFH GBV Prevention Unit, said “We should not need to be opening an office like this. Not in 2025, not on a university campus and not anywhere. Dare I say we should not even be living in a society where we are fighting gender-based violence. It should not exist, it should not be the norm and gender injustice and gender inequality should not be a part of our lives and yet here we are.”
Sibanda Moyo said gender-based violence is woven into the fabric of our existence and institutions like Fort Hare are not immune to this reality. She remembered Nosicelo Mtebeni, a 23-year-old Fort Hare student who was brutally murdered by her boyfriend in August 2021.
“Her name is not just a part of a tragic history, it is a part of our story as the university. A final-year law student, a daughter and a friend whose life was taken brutally and her body dismembered and found in a suitcase not far from where she was supposed to be preparing for her future.”
She said Mtebeni’s death was proof that being young and brilliant does not keep one safe.
