The investiture will begin with a wreath-laying at the Solomon Plaatje Memorial in Kimberley. This is an act of remembrance and cultural grounding that anchors the ceremony in the legacy of the University’s namesake.

A private traditional ceremony will be held at the Chancellor’s home. Family, elders and community will gather in a deeply African ritual to honour and prepare the man before the office is formally conferred.

The procession will begin at the Chancellor’s home. It will move to St Boniface College where he spent his formative years, before continuing to the Solomon Plaatje House where history, identity and place converge.

Led by a Praise Singer, the full academic procession will move through the streets of Kimberley to the Great Hall. It will bring together academic leadership, students and community in a powerful public moment of unity and symbolism.

On arrival at the Great Hall, a commissioned portrait of Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje will be unveiled. This marks a moment where artistic, intellectual and ancestral legacy come together.

The formal ceremony will mark the conferral of office and the inauguration of the Chancellor. Academic, civic and community leadership will come together in a defining institutional moment.

The day will conclude with a formal dinner for distinguished guests, partners and stakeholders. It will provide an opportunity to reflect on the significance of the occasion and the future it signals.