Professor Bekithemba Dube delivered his Professorial Inaugural Address at the Welkom Campus, sharing powerful reflections on curriculum, politics, religion, and the urgent need for decolonial thought in shaping Africa’s future.

The Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT)  marked another proud milestone in its academic journey as the Welkom Campus hosted the Professorial Inaugural Address of Professor Bekithemba Dube, Full Professor in Curriculum Studies and Director of the Centre for Diversity in Higher Education Research. Family, friends, colleagues, and distinguished guests gathered to celebrate a defining moment in both Prof. Dube’s career and the university’s academic legacy.

Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Pamela Dube, set the tone for the evening, describing the Professorial Inaugural Address as one of academia’s highest honours, a tradition that recognises sustained excellence in research, teaching, postgraduate supervision, and intellectual leadership. More than a ceremony, she noted, it is an opportunity for a scholar to share the ideas and experiences that have shaped their contribution to knowledge and society.

That contribution was powerfully evident in Prof. Dube’s address, titled “Does Humanity Matter, to Whom and Why? Intersectionality of Curriculum, Politics and Religion: Theorising from Postcolonial Thinking to the Decolonial Turn.” In a lecture that was both intellectually rigorous and deeply reflective, he challenged the audience to confront an uncomfortable reality that curriculum, politics, and religion have too often been weaponised to sustain oppression, exclusion, and dehumanisation in postcolonial African societies, rather than serve as instruments of liberation.

From left: Ms Sikhathele Dube (wife), Professor Bekithemba Dube, and Dr Ritu Bhagwandeen, MSTE Departmental Manager during the celebration of Prof. Bekithemba Dube’s Professorial Inaugural Address at the Welkom Campus.

Tracing his scholarly journey from the postcolonial thought of Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak to the decolonial scholarship of Walter Mignolo, Aníbal Quijano, and Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Prof. Dube made a compelling case for placing decoloniality at the centre of African knowledge production. Echoing Paulo Freire’s assertion that education is never neutral, he argued that scholars have a responsibility to ensure that curriculum, politics, and religion advance humanity rather than undermine it. “The mind of the oppressed is the greatest weapon of the oppressor,” he remarked, urging academics, political leaders, educators, and religious institutions to be held accountable through evidence-based research and critical engagement.

Reflecting on the meaning of attaining Full Professor status, Prof. Dube spoke with humility and conviction. For him, the professoriate is not merely a title, but a calling, a commitment to developing others, mentoring emerging scholars, amplifying silenced voices, and leading through service. “If you want to be the greatest, be a servant for all,” he said.

With more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, an H-index of 22, seven edited books, prestigious international grants, and research collaborations spanning Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and beyond, Prof. Bekithemba Dube continues to shape critical conversations on humanity, justice, decoloniality, and the future of knowledge in Africa. The university is honoured to count him among its distinguished scholars and intellectual leaders.

Dr Clifford Nxomani, acting Campus Director- Welkom Campus, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof. Pamela Dube, Prof. Bekithemba Dube, recently inaugurated Professor and Prof. Wendy Setlalentoa, acting DVC: Teaching and Learning.