Bheki Mlangeni Scholarship Guide & Eligibility

Bheki Mlangeni Scholarship 2026:
Application Guide & Eligibility Requirements

The Bheki Mlangeni Scholarship represents one of South Africa’s most meaningful educational opportunities for aspiring law students. Established by Cheadle Thompson & Haysom, this prestigious scholarship honors the memory of a courageous community leader and lawyer whose life was tragically cut short in the struggle for democracy.

The Bheki Mlangeni Scholarship is an annual award established by Cheadle Thompson & Haysom in memory of Bhekisizwe Godfrey Mlangeni, a colleague and friend who was assassinated while serving his articles at the firm in 1991. This scholarship provides financial support to deserving South African law students who demonstrate both academic excellence and a commitment to social justice.

Bhekisizwe Godfrey Mlangeni joined Cheadle Thompson & Haysom in January 1989 as an aspirant lawyer committed to challenging the apartheid legal order. Despite his youth, he was recognized as a community leader of exceptional calibre, serving as ANC Jabulani Branch chairperson and maintaining deep involvement with the Soweto Civic Association.

As a former student leader at both Fort Hare and Wits Universities, Bheki’s activism led to his detention on three separate occasions for lengthy periods. His life was tragically ended on February 15, 1991, when he died in an explosion triggered by a booby-trapped cassette player manufactured by the Vlakplaas Unit of the then South African Police.

To qualify for the Bheki Mlangeni Scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Must be a South African citizen
• Must be enrolled as a final-year LLB student
• Must be Black
• Must demonstrate financial disadvantage
• Must have demonstrated excellence in constitutional law, labour law, or administrative law
• Must show a commitment to using their legal qualification to advance social justice

The Bheki Mlangeni Scholarship application process is straightforward but requires careful attention to deadlines and requirements. Applications must be submitted by the end of February each year to one of the participating universities.

University of the Western Cape Submit your application to Vernon Johannes via email

• The scholarship name you’re applying for
• A comprehensive motivation letter explaining why you deserve the scholarship
• Certified copy of academic results
• Certified copy of your identity document
• Two letters of reference
• Contactable telephone numbers
• Incomplete or late applications will not be considered
• Scholarship recipients may be required to participate in a vacation work program at Cheadle Thompson & Haysom
• If you don’t receive a response, please consider your application unsuccessful

The Bheki Mlangeni Scholarship serves multiple important purposes for both recipients and the legal community:

Celebrating Memory: The scholarship keeps alive the memory of Bheki Mlangeni and his contributions to the struggle for democracy in South Africa.

Promoting Progressive Legal

Education:

By supporting students at leading South African universities, the scholarship helps advance progressive legal thinking and practice.

Honoring Sacrifice: The scholarship reminds current and future generations of the profound sacrifices made to achieve democracy in South Africa.

Upholding Constitutional Values: The scholarship encourages recipients to entrench and realize the principles that underpin South Africa’s Constitution.

For Cheadle Thompson & Haysom, the Bheki Mlangeni Scholarship represents more than financial assistance for students. It embodies the firm’s struggle against forgetting their origins and founding principles. As the firm has grown and transformed since the early 1990s, expanding from human rights and labour law into constitutional, public administration, media, telecommunications, and commercial law, the scholarship serves as a touchstone for their core values.

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