“Your Win Is Our Win”: Strangers Celebrate University of Fort Hare Graduate in Eastern Cape

• A University of Fort Hare graduate from the Eastern Cape shared the moment a group of strangers surrounded her to celebrate her
• The young woman was still in her graduation regalia, holding a bouquet of flowers, when it happened
• Many shared their fears about graduating alone, and others offered to show up for strangers on their big day

A young woman had just graduated from the University of Fort Hare's Dikeni Campus in the Eastern Cape and decided to share the moment on her TikTok page on 11 May 2026. She was standing in her graduation gown, holding a bouquet, getting ready to take a photo, when a group of strangers noticed her and walked over.

They surrounded her, started clapping and broke into song right there in the street, celebrating her as if they had known her their whole lives. At first, she stood completely still, surprised and not quite sure what was happening. Then the singing got louder, she put her head down, raised her hands and started dancing right along with them.

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She shared the clip, saying the moment made her whole day and that it was a true example of South Africa, where strangers celebrate other strangers.

The University of Fort Hare, where she graduated, is one of South Africa's most historically well-known institutions. Located in Alice, it has produced some of the continent's greatest leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Robert Mugabe.

The spirit of Ubuntu in action

What the strangers did had everyone in their feelings as they recognised their action as the spirit of Ubuntu. This is a traditional African philosophy rooted in the idea that a person's identity and well-being are tied to the well-being of those around them.

It guided the philosophies of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu during South Africa's transition out of apartheid, and it shows up in everyday life in moments exactly like this one.

When strangers stop what they are doing to celebrate someone they have never met, that is Ubuntu breathing.

Watch the TikTok clip below:

SA praises the strangers celebrating strangers

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TikToker @magaqakhanyisa's video touched people across the country:

@cindyzwide offered:

"People who are alone and graduating in Durban, please let us know. Nobody deserves to be alone on their special day. Khulumani guys, please ningasabi 🥺👏🏾"

@cat858646 shared:

"I was going to cry 😭 I will be doing my final year next year, and I don't have both parents. My two brothers are working far from home. I think I will be alone on my graduation day 😭 I am praying though, I know God will make a plan 🕯️❤️"

@mrsmkhwane added:

"We are so supportive, we even attend funerals of people we've never even met ❤️"

@sparkles_xulu declared:

"Your win is our win 🔥"

@phillipinehaverst said:

"Can we celebrate this lady and the guys who celebrated this day with her..."

More on SA graduation moments

• Briefly News recently reported on a South African couple who walked the graduation stage together to collect their MBA degrees.
• In another story, a nursing lecturer at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University was honoured with a posthumous PhD at graduation.
• A UniZulu graduate stepped off the stage and straight into a full traditional Zulu dance celebration with her family.

Source: Briefly News