A Nigerian professor teaching at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, Harry Garuba, is dead. He died on Friday, February 29, after suffering from an undisclosed long ailment.
Professor Garuba, a scholar in the African Studies unit in the institution, was also a lecturer in the English Department of the university and was described as a ‘master writer and a poet.’
He had his first, Masters and his Ph.D at the University of Ibadan and taught at the University of Ibadan for more than 10 years before he left for South Africa where he was employed at the University of Cape Coast.
Announcing his death on Saturday, February 29, The University of Cape Coast, in a statement, described him as “an African intellectual and icon whose scholarship was driven by a deep dedication.”
The statement, signed by the UCT Executive, read in part: “It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Professor Harry Garuba (61) on the evening of 28 February 2020 following a long illness.
“Professor Garuba served as acting dean of the Faculty of Humanities from February to December 2017. He was a scholar in the African Studies unit with a joint appointment in the English Department at UCT. A masterful writer and poet, he was a luminary in the field of African literature and a champion of postcolonial theory and postcolonial literature.
“He published widely in these fields, with four co-edited books, one edited anthology of poetry, one solely-authored volume of poetry, well over 40 journal articles and book chapters, and numerous review essays and encyclopaedia entries. He held research fellowships at the University of Texas at Austin, Harvard University and Emory University.
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“His dedication to his field was critical in developing the UCT Centre for African Studies as a hub for research on the African continent. As part of the university’s Curriculum Change Working Group (CCWG), Professor Garuba was committed to developing thinking about what a decolonised curriculum would look like in Africa and the global south and what a multicultural curriculum would look like in the West.
“He believed that the curriculum was a particularly good place to plant the seeds of transformation and these insights made him a critical part of the CCWG and the university at large.
“Professor Garuba was committed to teaching students to be analytical, to question, to engage, to ask difficult questions and to use their imagination in solving real-world problems.
“During his tenure as director of the School of African and Gender Studies, Anthropology and Linguistics and acting dean of the faculty, he was a strong leader who displayed wisdom and empathy and will be remembered for his warm personality and commitment to a truly transformed university centred around its African identity.
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Professor Garuba is survived by his immediate family in Cape Town – his wife, Zazi, son, Ruona (20), and daughter, Zukina (14).
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, colleagues and students and all who knew Professor Garuba.”
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