Two CPUT boxers who started boxing this year defied the odds as they won their preliminary rounds, quarter finals, semi-finals and went on to win the gold medals at the 2023 University Sports South Africa (USSA) National Boxing Championships, which were recently held at the Major Sports Hall, Bellville Campus.

The two boxers were Anelihle Bukwane and Hosea Mokgatla and CPUT was represented by 13 boxers (10 males and three females) in the three-day tournament. Overall, the hosts, CPUT received three gold medals, two silver and three bronzes. CPUT team manager, Mvemve Mdingi, who is also the USSA Boxing National Secretary, said: “The performance was magnificent considering the fact that majority of these boxers started boxing this year and therefore they are novice boxers.”

Mdingi also acknowledged the presence of USSA National President, Jerry Laka, as well as South African National Boxing Organisation President, Siyabulela Mkhwalo, the former Head of Department: Sports at CPUT. “He [Mkhwalo] congratulated both our performance and the way our competition was well organised.”

He continued: “The CPUT community should look forward to the most exciting year 2024 of boxing. We are pushing to make our institution the hub of boxing champions. We will be starting a boxing league that will feature well-trained boxers from CPUT, University of the Western Cape and Western Cape ranks.

Bulelani Mlakalaka, Sport Development Officer: Rugby, Boxing and Tennis, said: “I must say it’s [a] great honour to do this especially when the events are successful like this USSA Boxing. It’s a lot of work because I must lead a group of my CPUT colleagues coming in from different departments to make sure that we have a successful tournament.” Mlakalaka who was the event organiser, is happy with the achievement of the boxers although “we did not win the tournament, but we won the trophy as one of the best performing universities in the tournament”. Overall CPUT became number four out of the 12 universities.

As an event organiser, he made sure that the event was a success by working in hand to hand with all the stakeholders in the Local Organising Committee (LOC). “As an event organiser you make sure that you uphold the values of the USSA and CPUT by making sure that all the participating universities are happy at all times despite challenges I might had during the planning phase and during the tournament.”

He thanked the CPUT management for allowing Sport Department to host the USSA Boxing event and all of his LOC colleagues for making sure that CPUT hosted one of the best national student athletes’ tournaments. “For our CPUT community, thank you so much for always supporting all your teams. As Sport Department we strive for #OneSmartCPUT.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce

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The CPUT choir recently released a new song, ‘The Spirit of Cape Peninsula’ which is intended to be the CPUT’s own unique anthem for all CPUT community members to learn and know the song and understand its message of hope and inspiration.

Choir conductor/Director, Vusumzi Tsham, said the song was composed by a South African composer and scholar, Dr Bongani Ndodana-Breen, works at the University of Cape Town’s College of Music as a composition lecturer, Ndodana-Breen is also an associate professor of music. “He wrote the text/lyrics and music respectively.”

“The song in its style is an anthem and the purpose or reason behind the composition was that, CPUT as the institution to have its own unique anthem… We all go through hardships in life, this song reiterates the fighting spirit in each and every one of us. “

Acting Dean of Student Affairs, Nonkosi Tyolwana, said the song will become an intrinsic part of the university’s brand identity and will be sung at graduations, sports games, conferences, and all other events where CPUT is represented. “It is entrenched in CPUT values of ‘ubuntu and ubunye’ – we hope that in future it will completely be the ‘CPUT anthem’ that reflects One Smart CPUT in all CPUT graduations and other high level university events.”

Tyolwana stated that almost all universities have driven away from “Gaudeamus Igitur” and replaced it with songs that reflect patriotism where staff, students and their parents and guardians can associate with .”CPUT followed the trend to ensure that graduations and other university events provide a significant meaning through the song that evokes patriotism and is understood by all.”

As the choir conductor, Tshama prepares the choir for public performances, this includes motivating the choir, teaching them technical knowledge of music and help them shape their identities through music.

“I hope the song will lift the spirits of the CPUT community members and unite them to go face to face with hardships they will encounter in life.” He added that this song is unique because of its style. “It infuses influences that are drawn from the Western and African art music and language. It is not an African piece but a South African piece because of its syncretic styles.”

Tsham continued: “We are living in challenging and difficult times and for us to overcome these challenges we must rely heavily on the arts, music being one of the art-forms. I quote ‘It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.’ - J.R.R Tolkien.”

Tyolwana said the song highlights the CPUT as the home to many and a source of inspiration to its staff, students and alumni of CPUT, and “we hope that it becomes an intrinsic feature of the CPUT brand. We also encourage staff, students and alumni to popularise it, learn to sing it and take pride in the lyrics as it embraces CPUT as the place of belonging and pride”.

“We hope that the song serves as an inspiration and motivation for the CPUT community- as this is CPUT Anthem is for the current CPUT communities and generations to come… The choir has worked very hard at rehearsing the song, and I am sure they will do justice to the composition. We also invite students and staff to join the choir as we know students come and go- staff can play a critical role in ensuring that the choir is available throughout the year.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce

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