Academic in the College of Humanities Professor Mbongeni Malaba has been elected President of the English Academy of Southern Africa (EASA). The EASA is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 1961 to promote effective use of English as a national resource in the region. Membership is open to all individuals and organisations that identify with its mission.

‘During my term of office, I hope to promote greater cooperation between English Departments in universities within the SADC region and to continue encouraging closer cooperation with schools, such as the flagship Conference jointly organised by ‘Maritzburg College and EASA, for English teachers at state schools, which has grown from strength to strength during the past three years,’ said Malaba.

The KZN Chapter of EASA hosted the EASA Conference in 2014 and will host the 2020 Conference in Durban.

Malaba was awarded a BA Honours in English by the former University of Rhodesia, and received a Beit Trust Postgraduate Fellowship to pursue doctoral studies at the University of York’s Centre for Southern African Studies.

His other awards include a University of York Scholarship for Overseas Students, a Fulbright African Senior Research Fellowship, and being selected as a Fellow of the Salzburg Seminar on Films. He lectured at the University of Zimbabwe for 18 and a half years, and was an Associate Professor and Head of the English Department at the University of Namibia, before joining UKZN in 2009.

His current research and teaching interests are Namibian poetry written in English, Charles Mungoshi’s poetry, short stories and novels; Shakan literature; Alan Paton’s and Thomas Mofolo’s works, and Zimbabwean literature.