"Much has and will still be said about Russell as son, brother, father, uncle, friend, colleague, and comrade, but I wish to speak of Prof Russell Botman as the leader committed to the pursuit of social justice and the realisation of meaningful transformation.
To illustrate his unique style, I quote from his blog on 21 August 2013;
“We have recently been chatting about our South African identity. Many say that it is not only our diversity that is characteristic of our nation but also our celebration of it. To them, we are, as our country’s Constitution (of 1996) puts it, “united in our diversity” Being South African necessarily means that we are also African. Our country is, after all, part of this continent. But what does it mean to be African? It is not just about geography.
The African identity is also about certain values. And at the heart of it is the idea that I am person through and with other people. This view of life is known as ubuntu. Linking your own humanity to that of other people implies two things: you empathise with all people; and you treat all people with respect. This is what makes you human; this is what it means to be part of humankind.”
Russell was not one for effusive accolades, which makes speaking about him today a rare pleasure without him waving his hand dismissively.
Like all transformative leaders, Russell could be misunderstood if one did not know their points of origin and the fibre of their make-up and development. So, tonight, I want to talk about a much appreciated comrade, spiritual leader and catalyst for our country's transformation at home and abroad.
There were those who remarked on his absences without knowing that this national and global transformation agenda is what rooted Prof Botman's goals and his life epitomised the spirit of this country, as we travelled the hard and dangerous road to political, socio-economic, geopolitical and personal transformation so as to reshape the fragmented fabric of our society.
Tonight, I wish to focus on Professor Russell Botman’s life as a transformative student, academic, religious and community leader.
At the University of the Western Cape in 1976, when the State and a specific church were one, and University of Western Cape (UWC) became a home of the left, as well as a focal point of resistance in the Western Cape, the Faculty of Theology played a leading role in the anti-apartheid struggle with Russell as a front-leading student leader. The UWC Student Representative Council has records of Prof Botman's contributions. Interestingly, Russell would later become a member of staff at the very university, where he obtained his political education, where he worked alongside of his colleagues to reposition UWC.
It was at UWC that Russell's passion for social justice emerged through his academic and intellectual development there, as a proud member of the Convocation of UWC. Today, his alma mater expresses pride in the achievements of Prof Botman as one of its sons who achieved greatness. This is where history placed him so that he could be prepared for his role within society and later at the University of Stellenbosch.
As academic and religious leader, he contributed to the education and understanding of thousands of religious leaders, who responded by acknowledging and accepting that apartheid was unjust, unchristian, and had to be resisted because as domineering, reverend or pastor, religious leaders remain part and parcel of the societies in which they proclaim the righteousness and justness of the Almighty whom they claim to represent. As shepherds of various flocks, any persecution they experience is the business of the pastoral ministry.
Alongside of his academic leadership, Russell Botman was President of the South African Council of Churches, where his commitment to transformation ensured that "the church," as it is broadly known, remained the voice of conscience of the broader South Africa. In this role, he led various to engage the ANC-leadership of the time on issues of social transformation, amongst others.
As well-respected leader-in-crisis, Prof Botman stepped into the gap with aplomb when Dr. Allan Boesak, as we fondly remember, left the NG Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa/NG Sendingkerk to lead that church, which had been at the forefront of the struggle against apartheid following its historic Belhar Confession in 1986.
In 2000 upon joining the University of Stellenbosch as Professor in the Department of Practical Theology and Missiology, the groundwork was laid for Prof Botman to fulfill the requirements to become Vice Rector in 2002 charged with the transformation of the University of Stellenbosch, which was once one of the paramount intellectual homes of apartheid, to one which was worthy of being seen as a beacon of change in the new SA. Russell's integrity and Christian faith carried him through his last leg of his life. His colleagues on the Higher Education South Africa Strategic Group, and the Higher Education South Africa (HESA) Transformation Forum will remember his balanced but decisive inputs.
Undoubtedly, Russell is a central figure in the unfolding narrative of Stellenbosch University. His appointment as the first black Rector and Vice Chancellor of that university is also a testament to the recognition of need for transformation within the university in order for it to be embraced into the wide and diverse South African family.
The challenges at SU were great, institutional segregation was entrenched, contestations about language of instruction, enforced separation of residences, and a myriad of other obstacles hindered the way of transformation. Prof Botman had to deal with this and many other challenges that we do not have time to mention, but suffice it to say that the complex nature of change and its many levels or intersections of transformation will continue long after the mortal remains of Russell have been united with the African soil and the realm of our ancestors.
What demands remembrance is that Russell is a key part of the post-apartheid narrative of Stellenbosch University and his contribution will forever remain a solid platform upon which others committed to transformation can build. Internationally, for example, we remember his last trip abroad, when on 7 March 2014 he addressed delegates at the International Women’s Day Conference at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
At the time, he delivered a lecture on “Universities’ role in the struggle for women’s rights.” To this end, one of his quotes stands out, as he claimed that “The university firstly has a pedagogical role, shaping young people at a crucial stage of their lives. They have to be guided to think critically and to re-examine existing practices in relation to the position of women in society. In the second place the university has an important role in generating new knowledge. This, in turn, has an influence on government policy at various levels.
Lastly, universities are situated in society and should therefore engage with communities in meaningful ways. This is where higher-education institutions should also exert an influence in terms of the status of women in society.”
Another accolade to one of the foremost transformers of Stellenbosch University is that under his leadership, the university adopted a new vision statement last year, citing that:
- "One of our main aims is to become more inclusive.
- Our institutional culture should be welcoming and empowering to all staff and students regardless of gender or sex or sexual orientation.
- We should invest in the empowerment of all people through education. But we should also carefully manage the process thereafter so that women’s advancement is not left to chance, but is positively boosted at all levels by us becoming more inclusive."
As I conclude, let me say that Professor Russell Botman succeeded in walking an often treacherous tightrope without sacrificing his prestigious institution's quality, took the old untransformed university, and brought it closer to a reconciliation with our collective new agenda. At all times, Russell believed that transformation is only sustainable and resilient when excellence and quality informs and drives the transformative agenda.
One day, when we write the epitaph of South Africa, the name of Russell Botman, son, brother, father, uncle, friend, colleague, and comrade, name will be there amongst the great sons and daughters of this country.
Hamba kahle, vaarwel, goodbye, till we meet again.
