Dr Solomon Lefakane is the first black student to graduate with a civil engineering degree in South Africa. And yes, he did this during the apartheid system that ensured quality education was a pipe dream for black people.
In recognition of the hope he inspired in other black people with his 1961 milestone, his alma mater, the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, has honoured the 84-year-old with a gold plaque on a brand new hall of fame at the institution’s Faculty of Engineering.