Mayosi was the second son of Nontle, a professional nurse, and George Timketson Sikhumbuzo Mayosi, an Obstetrician, and was born on 28 January 1967, in the small town of Nqamakwe.[10] He attended primary school in Upper Ngculu village, Nqamakwe. He completed his secondary school at St. John's College in Umthatha. At the age of 15, he received the top marks in the Independent Transkei'smatric exams.[1] At the University of KwaZulu-Natal, he earned his first two degrees—a BMedSci in 1986 and an MB ChB the following year—both at the top of his class.
In 2006, he was chosen to lead the department of medicine at UCT. He was named dean of the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences in 2016 and served in that capacity until his death.[11] In 2017 he was elected to the US National Academy of Medicine.[12] Professor Mayosi published over 400 peer-reviewed academic articles individually and collectively, including collaborating with eminent researchers like Salim Yusuf.[13][14][15] He was part of the team which discovered one of the gene mutations responsible for causing the life-threatening heart disease arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, this discovery was regarded as one of the most important medical advances in South Africa since the first human heart transplantation.[16][17] He was an editorial board member for several journals.[18]
Professor Mayosi served as the chairperson of the team appointed by the South African Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi to investigate irregularities and maladministration at The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), the organisation which registers, regulates and guides health professionals.[19] He was very involved in creating systems to train the next generation of physician-scientists; his vision included training 1,000 of them across South Africa every year.[20] Mayosi raised over 250 million rands for research.[21]
His father was a medical doctor and so was his wife.[22][18]
Death
Mayosi died by suicide on 27 July 2018; he had been experiencing depression for two years.[23] Eight months before his death he had tendered his resignation to the University of Cape Town, however, it was apparently declined.[24] According to his family the FeesMustFall protests contributed to Mayosi's declining mental health.[25]
An exit strategy from his "very stressful" job was being planned apparently where Mayosi would instead head the South African Medical Research Council.[26] The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, conveyed his condolences on Mayosi's death and accorded him a provincial funeral.[27][28] Among several dignitaries, Graca Machel, the Chancellor of UCT at the time, sent her condolences too.[29]
Little was done to support Professor Bongani Mayosi, according to the findings of an independent inquiry panel set up to examine his tenure and death while at the University of Cape Town.[30]
^ abKhumalo Mayosi, N (2018). "Yes, we did fail Bongani Mayosi". South African Medical Journal. 108 (9): 697. doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2018.v108i9.13609 (inactive 10 November 2024). ISSN2078-5135.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
^Ntusi, N (2018). "Professor Bongani Mayosi: A legend in our time". South African Medical Journal. 108 (9): 695. doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2018.v108i9.13584 (inactive 10 November 2024). ISSN2078-5135.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
^"H3Africa". h3africa.org. 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
