The new science lecture theatre at UCT was renamed the Chris Hani Lecture Theatre last Tuesday at a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the struggle icon’s death.
Mr Hani was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe. He was assassinated on April 10 1993.
The ceremony was attended by the Hani family, Public Works Deputy Minister and SACP secretary general Jeremy Cronin, former Constitutional Court judge Albie Sachs, UCT vice-chancellor Max Price, student organisations and other dignitaries.
Mr Cronin said: “I hope that the lecture theatre, which now bears the name Chris Hani, will be a forum for collective empowerment, for rational and reflective discussion and learning.”
Mr Cronin said there were many challenges in society today and it was important to have spaces for critical debate.
UCT spokesman Siyavuya Makubalo said the renaming was an “important milestone on our journey as a university”. The renaming of buildings, he said, was part of an ongoing process to make the university more inclusive and representative.