Nikiwe Bikitsha writes that she will remember Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu for his kindness he showed her and her sister when they were children, living on campus at UCT.
In 1988, my mother, a recently widowed and mature student, was appointed the sub-warden of Glendower and Sandringham Res at UCT.
Our lives, thrown asunder by the death of our father in a car accident, we joined our mom on campus, where UCT generously accommodated us.
As kids on campus, we were quite conspicuous; everyone knew our story - these rag tag girls from Mthatha looking somewhat lost and forlorn in the big city of Cape Town.
Living in Res meant that at meal times we would collect food at the canteen; two girls aged 10 and 13, milling about in the dining area with university students.
One of those students was Kimi Makwetu, who always sought to make us feel comfortable and helped us with whatever we needed in that bewildering environment. He would help us carry whatever we needed or, if we chose to dine in the hall, would make polite, age-appropriate conversation.
Many years later, when he was Auditor-General, and I was a news anchor, before interviews, he would say, "MaDlamini, nisanxiba eza jersey zinkulu nanizinxiba e campus?" (Madlamini, you still wear those oversized jerseys you used to wear on campus?)
And he would laugh. "Unjani uMama?" (How is your mother?)
The reason my sister and I wore over-sized jerseys was because our mom had bought us wool and thought knitting would keep us preoccupied and help us deal with our grief. Our jerseys were juvenile experiments at knitting.
When someone shows you kindness - you remember it forever.
Rest well, Kimi Makwetu. A kind man and a servant of the people.
- Nikiwe Bikitsha is a former journalist.