27 Notable alumni of University of the Western Cape
Updated: June 22, 2026 EliteDegrees
University of the Western Cape is ranked #1,096 in the world and #10 in South Africa by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 27 notable alumni from University of the Western Cape sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with University of the Western Cape won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Keharanjo Nguvauva
1984-2011 (aged 27)
Keharanjo II Xavier Komavau Nguvauva was the youngest Chief of the Ovambanderu, a Herero clan in Namibia. Keharanjo was born to the Ovambanderu family to the then Chief Munjuku Nguvauva II and his wife Aletta Karikondua Nguvauva. He was reported dead on the evening of Friday 8 April 2011 in the residential area of Khomasdal, Windhoek where he committed suicide...
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2. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi
1960-. (aged 66)
politician
minister
Geraldine Joslyn Fraser-Moleketi is a South African politician who was the Minister of Public Service and Administration from June 1999 to September 2008. Before that, from July 1996 to June 1999, she was Minister of Welfare and Population Development. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2008 and is a former deputy chairperson...
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3. Zamani Saul
1972-. (aged 54)
politician
Zamani Saul is a South African politician who is the 5th and current Premier of the Northern Cape and a Member of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature. He has also been serving as the Provincial Chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) since his election on 12 May 2017. He previously served as the Provincial Secretary and as the Deputy...
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4. Faustine Ndugulile
1969-2024 (aged 55)
civil servant
lawyer
physician
politician
Faustine Engelbert Ndugulile was a Tanzanian CCM politician who was a Member of Parliament for the Kigamboni constituency from 2010 until his death in 2024.
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5. Cheryl Carolus
1959-. (aged 67)
diplomat
political activist
businessperson
Cheryl Carolus is a South African politician, diplomat and activist.
6. Petrus Marais
1948-. (aged 78)
politician
Petrus Jacobus "Peter" Marais is a retired South African politician who served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.
7. Qedani Mahlangu
1968-. (aged 58)
politician
Qedani Dorothy Mahlangu is a South African politician who served continuously in the Gauteng Executive Council from 2004 to 2017. She is best known for her tenure as Gauteng's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health from 2014 to 2017, when she presided over the Life Esidimeni scandal. In February 2017, she resigned from the Executive Council and from...
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8. Ronelda Kamfer
1981-. (aged 45)
poet
writer
Ronelda Kamfer is a Kaaps-language South African poet and novelist.
9. Marius Fransman
1969-. (aged 57)
politician
Marius Llewellyn Fransman is a South African politician and teacher. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament from 2014 to 2016, and as Chairperson of the Western Cape African National Congress from 2011 to 2016. He served as Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation in the cabinet of Jacob Zuma. From 2009 to...
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10. Albert Fritz
1959-. (aged 67)
politician
Albert Theo Fritz is a South African politician and advocate. He was the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety for two nonconconsecutive terms from 2010 to 2011 and again from 2019 until his dismissal from the position amid sexual misconduct allegations in 2022. He was a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament from 2010 until his resignation from...
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11. Wilmot James
1953-. (aged 73)
politician
Wilmot Godfrey James is a South African academic who served as the country's opposition spokesperson of health. He was a Member of Parliament for the opposition Democratic Alliance. His constituencies were Mitchells Plain and Rondebosch. He was elected the party's Federal Chairperson between 2010 and 2015. Dr. James contested for the post of party leader in 2016, but lost the...
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12. José LuÃs Guterres
1954-. (aged 72)
diplomat
politician
José LuÃs Guterres is an East Timorese politician and diplomat.
13. Samkelisiwe Makhoba
1989-. (aged 37)
actor
Samkelisiwe "Samke" Makhoba is a South African actress who has a leading role in two series of MTV Shuga when it was set in South Africa.
14. Bience Gawanas
1956-. (aged 70)
lawyer
Bience Philomina Gawanas is a Namibian lawyer who served as Special Adviser on Africa for the United Nations from 2018 to 2020. She is Chancellor of University of Warwick, her British alma mater.
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15. Paul Treu
1971-. (aged 55)
rugby union player
Paul Treu is a South African former rugby union player and coach. He played for the South African Sevens team from 1999 to 2003 and was named head coach of the side in 2004, where he remained until his resignation in 2013. He was also the head coach for the Kenya Sevens team from November 2013 to December 2014, when...
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16. Janet Kelso
1975-. (aged 51)
biologist
bioinformatician
Janet Kelso is a South African computational biologist and Group leader of the Minerva Research Group for Bioinformatics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. She is best known for her work comparing DNA from previous humans (i.e. Neanderthals) with those of the present (Homo Sapiens).
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17. Mogamad Ganief Ebrahim Hendricks
1949-. (aged 77)
politician
Mogamad Ganief Ebrahim Hendricks is a South African politician, businessman, lecturer and teacher who is a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa. He became an MP on 22 May 2019. He is the founder and current leader of Al Jama-ah, a party for upholding Muslim interests in South Africa. Hendricks was previously a City of Cape Town municipal...
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18. Thembi Kgatlana
1996-. (aged 30)
association football player
Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Liga MX Femenil club Tigres UANL Femenil and the South Africa women's national team.
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19. Allan Boesak
1946-. (aged 80)
theologian
writer
politician
Allan Aubrey Boesak is a South African Dutch Reformed Church cleric, politician and anti-apartheid activist. He was sentenced to prison for fraud in 1999 but was subsequently granted an official pardon and reinstated as a cleric in late 2004.
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20. Zackie Achmat
1962-. (aged 64)
HIV/AIDS activist
film director
political activist
LGBTQ rights activist
Abdurrazack "Zackie" Achmat is a South African activist and film director. He is a co-founder of the Treatment Action Campaign and known worldwide for his activism on behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa. He served as board member and co-director of Ndifuna Ukwazi (Dare to Know), an organisation which aims to build and support social...
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21. Danny Jordaan
1951-. (aged 75)
anti-apartheid activist
association football player
politician
Daniel Alexander "Danny" Jordaan is the president of the South African Football Association (SAFA). He is a former lecturer, politician and anti-apartheid activist. He led South Africa's successful 2010 FIFA World Cup bid, the first successful one for Africa, as well as the country's unsuccessful bid four years earlier for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and was the chief executive...
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22. Ebrahim Patel
1962-. (aged 64)
politician
minister
Ebrahim Patel is a South African politician and former trade unionist who represents the African National Congress. He served as the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition from 2019 to 2024 and as Minister of Economic Development from 2009 to 2019.
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23. Tina Joemat-Peterson
1963-2023 (aged 60)
minister
teacher
politician
Tina Monica Joemat-Pettersson was a South African politician who served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police from July 2019 until her death in June 2023. A member of the African National Congress, Joemat-Petterson had previously served as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from 2009 until 2014 and as the Minister of Energy from May 2014...
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24. Akin Omotoso
1974-. (aged 52)
actor
screenwriter
film director
Akin Omotoso is a Nigerian film director, writer, and actor. He is best known for directing the 2022 film Rise. Both his father Kole Omotoso and his sister Yewande Omotoso are also writers.
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25. Imogen Wright
1986-. (aged 40)
bioinformatician
software developer
Imogen Wright is a South African software developer and bioinformatician. They are co-founder and CTO of Hyrax Biosciences, a software development company specialising in DNA analysis programs.
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26. Dipuo Peters
1960-. (aged 66)
politician
minister
Elizabeth Dipuo Peters is a South African politician who is the Deputy Minister of Small Business Development of the Republic of South Africa from 7 March 2023. She was previously the Minister of Transport from 10 July 2013 until 30 March 2017, in the Zuma administration, and former Minister of Energy from 2009 to 2013 having served as successor to...
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27. Stanley Mathabatha
1957-. (aged 69)
politician
Chupu Stanley Mathabatha is a South African politician who was the fourth Premier of Limpopo between July 2013 and June 2024. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he has been the Deputy Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development since July 2024.
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