IT'S every parent's dream to be present for their child's graduation.
Most parents celebrate through singing and dancing as their child is called to the stage. This shows the joy that their child has finally reached their destination.
But for Xolani Madela (52), a father from Lamontville in Durban, it was a bittersweet moment because he had to accept a degree on behalf of his late son.
Xolani walked the graduation stage to accept the degree of Bachelor of the Built Environment in Geomatics, which was awarded to his late son, Thabiso Madela, at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2024 Autumn Graduation ceremony in Durban on Monday, 20 May.
Thabiso (22) died in hospital in January 2024 after suffering from a short illness.
According to Xolani when his son realised that he wasn't going to recover from his illness, he had requested him to attend the graduation ceremony in his honour.
Xolani told Daily Sun that, in keeping with his son's promise, he walked onto the graduation stage after Thabiso's name was called from the podium.
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He said he was accompanied by a family member onto stage.
They were in tears as they graced the stage and saw the big screen showing a photograph of the late Thabiso, when DUT awarded his degree posthumously.
"My son's illness was strange. He complained about a severe earache as if something had entered his ears. We tried to rush him to hospital, but he sadly passed on," said Xolani.
He said that his son had predicted his death.
"Before his death, Thabiso requested that I attend his graduation ceremony to collect his qualification. He made me promise that I would attend the graduation on his behalf. Hearing him speak like that was painful, but I was hoping that he'd recover and attend the graduation himself. He had worked hard to obtain this qualification, and it would have been great to see him on that stage bearing the fruits of his sleepless nights. Unfortunately, God had other plans for him," said Madela.
He said Thabiso was loving, caring and dedicated to his varsity work. At the time of his death, he was serving his internship at Toyota South Africa.
DUT extended its heartfelt condolences to the Madela family and friends, to the geomatics department and to the faculty of engineering at the built environment.
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