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Would he be happy to receive the Order of Mapungubwe was he still alive? Doyoyo would have taken it because he was a decent human being, less on being dramatic, but not without voicing his frustration at the government which did not support his initiatives that would empower many youths, create much-needed jobs and boost the country’s exportation of new products he would have invented.

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Sizwe sama Yende

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World-acclaimed innovator, Professor Mulalo Doyoyo, has been finally honoured with one of the highest accolades by President Cyril Ramaphosa – the Order of Mapungubwe in silver.

Doyoyo died in March and was buried in Vondwe village in the Vhembe district on March 17. This is where he grew up and his star began shining in the local primary and high schools.

The posthumous recognition is for his enormous contribution to academia and research in the field of aerospace. The Order of Mapungubwe recognises South African who have accomplished excellence and exceptional achievement to the benefit of South Africa and beyond.

To those who knew Doyoyo personally, like this writer, he, first and foremost, wanted to be given space to serve the public, which he was unfortunately not afforded.

Would he be happy to receive the Order of Mapungubwe was he still alive? Doyoyo would have taken it because he was a decent human being, less on being dramatic, but not without voicing his frustration at the government which did not support his initiatives that would empower many youths, create much-needed jobs and boost the country’s exportation of new products he would have invented.

He embodied what President Ramaphosa said when he conferred the awards on Tuesday: “The truest test of heroism is that these acts are not done for the sake of name, prestige, fame or fortune. They are done out of conscience and unwavering responsibility that many of them carry. They are born of a burning quest for social justice.”

Doyoyo’s dream was to impart his skills and develop innovative youngsters like himself in every corner of South Africa and Africa, and put the country on the map.

In his own words, South Africa could be counted among the Big Five industrialised countries of the world, and Africans could be relieved from being “the wretched of the earth.”

“We’re capable of doing it and we can work like the Japanese, Germans and Americans and have our products labelled ‘Made in South Africa’ exported all over the world. Those people do not talk about theories, they work. Industrialisation is about action,” Doyoyo said in an interview in 2020.

 His road map for South Africa to carve a niche among the industrialised countries was put together in an incisive and well-researched document, titled Resource-Driven Technology Concept Centre (Retecza). In 2007, using the document as a reference, he and a group of Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) engineering students at the Soshanguve campus designed the hydrogen motorbike, known as the Ahifambeni.

Doyoyo said that if Retecza was implemented, it would encourage collaboration between industries and academic institutions to develop concepts and create a vibrant culture of cutting-edge research and innovation.

He said that they would be centres at which inventors, industries and academic institutions would work together to research innovations, test them and produce prototypes and final products that could be commercialised.

“The long-term rewards of Retecza would be the production of globally marketable and high-quality products that would break the cycle of poverty by creating jobs as new factories would be established and existing ones strengthened,” he said.

Doyoyo studied and worked in US’ Ivy League universities. He was conferred his professorship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

On his return to SA in 2013, he was already an acclaimed innovator with many inventions behind him.

Among them, he created a cement-less concrete called Cenocell, which is produced in the US and has been patented worldwide. He invented Cenocell while he was based at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US as an engineering professor. Cenocell cement is made from fly ash – a by-product of coal combustion in coal-fired power plants, cement production, paper manufacturing and mining operations.

Locally, he has invented an eco-friendly paint called Amoriguard, which is made from mining and industry waste.

Just before his death, Doyoyo had designed the liquid cement. He was trying to find a solution to the scourge of economy-sabotaging cable and copper theft in the rail, telecommunications and electricity industry.

The liquid is mixed with fly ash and can make anything that Portland cement can do. The main difference is that Doyoyo’s cement is eco-friendly and does not emit greenhouse gases.

As he tried opening doors on his return, they were shut back on his face. One time, after making a good presentation to develop township brickmakers from his innovative Eco-cast machine, he was told that the Chinese would be invited to bid because “Chinese are black.”

Doyoyo was a researcher in applied mechanics, ultralight materials, green building, renewable energy, and other fields of engineering. He also lectured in different engineering disciplines including ocean engineering, civil and environmental engineering, and mechanical engineering in the US.