Minister Manamela Pays Tribute to Late SMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Tandi Matsha-Erasmus
Higher Education Sector Mourns Renowned Scientist, Academic Leader and Champion of Integrity was laid to rest in Cape Town today.
South Africa’s higher education community has paid tribute to Professor Tandi Matsha-Erasmus, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU), with Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela describing her as a courageous leader, pioneering scientist and steadfast defender of institutional integrity.
Speaking at her funeral to earlier this morning, Manamela conveyed condolences to the Matsha and Erasmus families, acknowledging both the personal loss suffered by loved ones and the wider grief felt across the country’s higher education and scientific sectors.
“There is no gentle way to lose a wife, a mother, a sister,” said Manamela. “Today your private grief and the country’s public mourning meet in this one place.”
The Minister said Professor Matsha-Erasmus left an indelible mark on South African higher education, having built a distinguished career in science, research and academic leadership.
A Leading Scientist and Research Pioneer
Professor Matsha-Erasmus was widely recognised for her groundbreaking research in diabetes and cardiometabolic disease, establishing herself as one of Africa’s leading scientists in the field. Her work contributed significantly to understanding some of the major health challenges affecting South Africans and communities across the continent.
Manamela praised her commitment to advancing knowledge while ensuring that scientific research served society.
“Her work was rooted here, in service of the communities closest to home, yet reached across borders to add to a body of knowledge that belongs to all humanity,” he said.
Her achievements in research, combined with her leadership experience, saw her rise through the ranks at SMU, serving as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Acting Vice-Chancellor before being appointed Vice-Chancellor and Principal.
Leadership Defined by Courage and Integrity
Although her tenure as Vice-Chancellor lasted just over a year, Manamela said she led the institution during a particularly challenging period and remained committed to principles of accountability and ethical leadership.
“When the storms of allegation came, she did not bend; she stood firm against corruption and held the line of her own integrity even when it would have been easier to yield,” the Minister said.
He noted that Professor Matsha-Erasmus viewed university leadership as a public trust and dedicated herself to strengthening SMU’s role as a leading health sciences institution.
Her vision centred on building a resilient university capable of producing the doctors, nurses, scientists and healthcare professionals needed to serve South Africa’s growing healthcare demands.
Advancing Health and Social Justice
Manamela emphasised that the significance of Professor Matsha-Erasmus’s work extended beyond higher education.
“A health sciences university is where we form the doctors who will staff our clinics, and the nurses, scientists and therapists who will care for our people,” he said.
According to the Minister, Professor Matsha-Erasmus understood that access to quality healthcare was fundamentally linked to social justice and dedicated her career to strengthening both healthcare education and research capacity.
Inspiring the Next Generation
Addressing students and young people, particularly young women, Manamela described Professor Matsha-Erasmus as a role model whose journey demonstrated what could be achieved through determination, excellence and perseverance.
“A woman who rose through the laboratory and the lecture hall to lead a university; who made her name in science on her own merit; who carried herself with dignity in the highest office, in the hardest of times,” he said.
He encouraged aspiring academics, researchers and leaders to follow the path she helped create, saying her legacy would continue through those she mentored and inspired.
A Legacy That Endures
While acknowledging the sadness of losing a leader in the midst of her service, Manamela said Professor Matsha-Erasmus’s legacy would live on through her research, her students and the institutions she helped shape.
He urged the SMU community and the broader higher education sector to honour her memory by continuing the work she championed — building institutions grounded in excellence, honesty and hope.
Quoting her own words, the Minister highlighted the guiding philosophy that defined her life and career:
“Greatness is not accidental. It is the result of discipline, perseverance and purpose. Excellence is not a destination; it is a way of life, a daily choice to do better, and to inspire others to rise higher. Leadership is not about being in front. It is about lifting others as you climb, ensuring that your success creates pathways for those who follow.”
“She lived those words,” Manamela said. “She lifted others as she climbed.”
As tributes continue to pour in, Professor Tandi Matsha-Erasmus is being remembered not only as an accomplished scientist and university leader, but as a woman whose commitment to excellence, transformation and ethical leadership helped shape the future of South African higher education.
©Higher Education Media Service.