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Internationalisation and Partnerships Directorate honours its former Director, the late Ambassador Nicolas Bwakiri

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As part of celebrating Unisa’s 150 years of existence, the Internationalisation and Partnerships Directorate wants to pay tribute to the positive contributions made by the late, who joined the University of South Africa in 2002 as the Director of the Africa Directorate until 2007.

Ambassador Nicolas Bwakira

Under the leadership of the Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Dr Barney Pityana, Prof Baijnath and Mr Bwakira, the directorate  assisted in extending the reach of distance education to other African countries, which culminated in the opening of the UNISA-Ethiopia Regional Centre in Addis-Ababa and  establishment of the South Sudan civil servant training programme. Bwakira went on to serve on the International Advisory Board for the South Sudan Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS), a think-tank institution that aspired to be a leading research institution in the fields of strategic and policy studies in the African region and globally, and Dir. Mubuserved as a parliamentarian and shadow minister for International Relations under the Democratic Alliance (DA) Political Party, in the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa.

The current Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Africa (Unisa), Prof Puleng LenkaBula, has acknowledged the positive contribution made by former Special Representative of the African Union in Somalia, Ambassador Nicolas Bwakira of Burundi.

The office of Prof Puleng LenkaBula, the current Vice-Chancellor, released a statement on the passing of the former Ambassador and acknowledged the ambassador’s long-standing association with the University has left an undeniable mark on the institution, among others. Over and above being a diplomat, he was also an international civil servant and academic. His contribution to the University and the continent has been exemplary.

We believe that his work and unwavering commitment to the protection of refugees and peace on the continent must be celebrated. We cannot ignore his commitment to improving the lives of people on the continent.

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Publish date: 2023/06/20

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