Award winning South African writer Zukiswa Wanner conferred an honorary doctorate in Literature by University of Free State
By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor
Writer, editor and publisher, Zukiswa Wanner’s literary profile was this week, elevated when University of Free State conferred on her, an Honorary doctorate in literature during the university’s latest season of graduation ceremony on Monday, April 13, 2026.
Wanner who has published several books, including fiction, with her oeuvre that include fiction and Non-Fiction, has in recent years, expanded her practice, starting her own publishing company.
However, her most recent endeavour is that of activism. She has been vocal about the war in Gaza and its effects, particularly on Palestinian life since the war broke out two years ago, pitting the Palestinians with the Israelis. Her activism has seen her speak out against Israel’s bombardment of Palestine,that she on several occasions, has described as Genocide.
Last year she was part of the Flotilla that sailed to the war territory to protest against the war in an attempt to undo the blockadeespecially for food and medicine for the desperate Palestinians. Therefore Wanner has become the loudest voice coming from South Africa’s literary scene to protest against the war in Palestine.
In 2024, the award winning writer, dramatically returned the Goethe Medal, depositing it at the German Embassy in Nairobi, where she was based at the time. This act was a protest against Germany’s stance on the war in Palestine, particularly its support for Israel and its silence about the Genocide.
“I am a writer, editor, publisher and curator who considers the African continent my home. In 2020, I became the first woman on my continent to receive the Goethe Medaille alongside Bolivian artist and Museum Director Elvira Espejo Ayca and writer Ian McEwan from the United Kingdom. While the Goethe Medal is conferred by the Goethe-Institut to ‘non-Germans who have performed outstanding service for international cultural relations’, it is important to note that the award is an official decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany,” she said at the time.
‘’In recognition of her significant contributions to African literature and cultural discourse, it is with great pride that the University of the Free State (UFS) confers an honorary doctorate on Dr Zukiswa Wanner.
With a career spanning nearly two decades, Dr Wanner is considered a leading contributor and promoter of African literature in her capacity as an author, editor, and publisher. As the creator of the virtual literary festival Afrolit Sans Frontières, she continues to aid in the growth and exposure of said literature across the continent and the diaspora,”a statement from the University of Free State reads after Wanner was honored during the university’s latest season’s graduation season.