This year’s lecture, which explored deep questions of decolonisation and belonging, is celebrated globally as a platform for addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Gurnah, renowned for his insightful depictions of colonialism and the refugee experience, centered his address on the power of storytelling in shaping human empathy and fostering connections across different cultures and histories. Reflecting on the importance of stories, Gurnah remarked, “Story, song, and dance are, and have always been, (vital) to the very existence of a human community, not as ornaments or distractions, but as the acts that enable empathy, solidarity, and self-recognition in a coeval atmosphere.”

His speech highlighted how, as a boy in Zanzibar, Tanzania stories and literature introduced him to the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, shaping his understanding of the African continent's broader fight against oppression.

Gurnah cited Peter Abrahams' *Mine Boy* as one of the works that opened his eyes to the lived experience of South Africans under apartheid. He emphasized how African literature continues to be a vehicle for truth and change: “Literature brings us news; it tells us about matters we did not know or from a perspective we had not considered before.”

In his lecture, Gurnah acknowledged that while words may not immediately solve material injustices, they are often the most powerful tool we have. “Words will not end injustices, will not rebuild schools or hospitals, or end detentions and the destruction of cities. But there are times when words is all we have, words and sympathy, and an understanding of our comparable experiences, our shared humanity.”

The Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, reflected on the significance of hosting the lecture at Wits, an institution that Nelson Mandela attended as its only Black law student in the 1940s. Vilakazi emphasized how the theme of shared humanity resonated with Mandela’s time at the university, where he built lasting relationships with activists like Ruth First, Joe Slovo, and Ahmed Kathrada, who later fought alongside him in the struggle against apartheid." 

“These associations changed the course of his life, and that of our country forever. Similarly, we hope that the important conversations that emerge from this Lecture will go a long way towards embracing our shared values, finding common ground, changing and making our world a better place,” said Vilakazi.

Following his address, Gurnah joined Dr. Mbongiseni Buthelezi, the incoming Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, in a dialogue where they unpacked the importance of solidarity in addressing the challenges Africa faces today. Buthelezi asked Gurnah how we can preserve solidarity in a world rife with division. Gurnah responded, “By talking, by writing, and by reading. Words are the only way to keep truthfulness alive.”

Gurnah’s work, which has long focused on the effects of colonialism and the plight of refugees, resonated deeply in a country still grappling with the legacies of apartheid and inequality. As Gurnah noted, “In the end, words will not end this or other injustices… But there are times when words is all we have.”

The Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture has been hosted at Wits University multiple times, a testament to the institution’s long-standing association with Nelson Mandela. While Mandela did not complete his law degree at Wits, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1990, and in 2004, it established the Mandela Institute in his honour.

--ChannelAfrica/WendyMothata--