Maritzburg College’s annual ceremony, the Passing of the Drum, sees the formal handing over of leadership from the outgoing senior year to the incoming team. Today, 22 October 2025, was the 14th time this treasured ceremony, first introduced in 2012, took place, marking the change in pupil leadership, which includes our head and deputy head prefects, prefects, shouting captains, and house leaders.
To be appointed as a College Prefect is one of the highest honours that the school can bestow upon a pupil, and along with this honour, comes accountability and responsibility. These boys have endured a rigorous process to achieve this honour, and they would not have been appointed without the wider College’s pupil and staff support. College appoints five senior prefects to lead this team; and we extend sincere congratulations to our Head Prefect for 2026, Dominic du Toit, (centre) and (L-R) our Deputy Head Prefects; Caleb Sweetnam, Lungelo Hadebe, Andile Lembethe and David Colenbrander.
College’s Shouting Captains fulfil a unique role at the school, with its emphasis on spirit and camaraderie. Voted for by their peers, each year it is their job to inspire and cajole the troops on Basher Ridge, on Pape’s and elsewhere, to get behind our College men. Congratulations to the shouting captains for 2026; Zanokuhle Tsabedze, Tamukanashe Chikowero, and Thebe Katz.
The five Border prefects who lead each of the boarding houses at College provide support to the boarder masters and boarder staff necessary for what is the largest Public School boarding establishment in the country, with its own special culture and traditions. It is their job to ensure a happy, efficient, and disciplined home for our 490 boarders. Today, we congratulate Caleb Sweetnam (Senior Boarder Prefect and Head of Clark House), Andile Lembethe (Head of Nathan House), Thabang Lekhobo (Head of Hudson House), Logan Dreyer (Head of Shepstone House) and Mzwamandla Manana (Head of Elliott House).
Congratulations to the 2026 house leaders, house captains and vice captains for the 10 day houses – our “homes within a home” at College. These young men are given the responsibility for various pastoral portfolios and assist the housemaster and staff in running the houses on a daily basis.
The culmination and highlight of the ceremony is the Passing of the Drum from our outgoing Head Prefect to the new incumbent, symbolising the passing of authority from the outgoing leadership of 2025 to the incoming leaders of 2026. For many years it has been the tradition that an outgoing College head prefect places a written message of support to his successor in the old drum. While this long-established tradition continues, the original old Thrash Drum that was used is now housed in a permanent case on display in the Victoria Hall, and instead, a side-drum from the old school cadet band is used to symbolise this passing of authority from the prefects of 2025 to the prefects of 2026. At the 2025 ceremony, outgoing Head Prefect Amahle Hadebe placed a personal message of support in the old drum, and handed the custodianship to Dominic du Toit, the 2026 Head Prefect, as a symbol of the passing of this authority.
We wish all our leaders well for 2026 and as a school, place our support, our trust and our confidence in you as we move into the new year.
College’s Leadership Team for 2026
Senior Prefects
Head Prefect: Dominic du Toit
Deputy Head Prefects: David Colenbrander, Lungelo Hadebe, Andile Lembethe and Caleb Sweetnam
Prefects 2026
| Matthew Askham | Merchiston Preparatory School |
| Liam Becket | Winston Park Primary School |
| Theodorus Boshoff | Magalieskruin Laerskool |
| Tamukanashe Chikowero | Montrose Primary School |
| David Colenbrander | Cordwalles Preparatory School |
| Bradley Cook | Cordwalles Preparatory School |
| Logan Dreyer | Gelofte Laerskool |
| Dominic du Toit | Winston Park Primary School |
| Caden Francis | Laddsworth Primary School |
| Carl Fynn | Merchiston Preparatory School |
| Lungelo Hadebe | Lynnford Primary School |
| Thabang Lekhobo | Hilldrop Heritage School |
| Andile Lembethe | Eston Primary School |
| Matthew Lock | Merchiston Preparatory School |
| Sbuyiselwe Mchunu | Newcastle Senior Primary School |
| Siphosethu Mchunu | Scottsville Primary School |
| Rorisang Motshoane | Midstream Ridge Primary School |
| Cody Potgieter | Laddsworth Primary School |
| Rory Schirge | New Hanover Preparatory School |
| Rory Stanton | Scottburgh Primary School |
| Caleb Sweetnam | King Edward Primary School |
| Joshua Thompson | Eston Primary School |
| Scott Venniker | Underberg Primary School |
| Keegan Vogt | Merchiston Preparatory School |
| Simon Wiggill | Merchiston Preparatory School |
| Craig Wilson | Merchiston Preparatory School |
| Sakhokuhle Xaba | Monument Primary School |
| Joe Zunckel | Winterton Primary School |
Boarding Houses
Senior Boarder Prefect and Head of Clark House: Caleb Sweetnam
The Head of House of Nathan House: Andile Lembethe
The Head of House of Shepstone House: Logan Dreyer
The Head of House of Hudson House: Thabang Lekhobo
The Head of House of Elliott House: Mzwamandla Manana
Boarder Prefects
Jack Nettleton (Hudson House), Enoxolo Mpapa (Shepstone House) and Matthew Smith (Shepstone House)
Shouting Captains
Tamukanashe Chikowero, Thebe Katz and Zanokuhle Tsabedze
House Captains (C), House Vice-captains (VC) and House Leaders
for the 10 school Day houses:
| Barns | Reece Willson (C.), Dominic du Toit (VC.), Keelan Chetty, Pablo Desebrook, Kaden Leonard, Tinashe Mafunga, Tsoafo Qhobosheane |
| Calder | Ntsikelelo Moyo (C.), Theo Boshoff (VC.), Callum Le Court De Billot, Weiss Maartens, Saurav Maharaj, Alande Ngubane, Vashisht Ramdeen |
| Commons | S Wiggill (C.), Connor Mountfort (VC.), Alondwe Dladla, Khulasande Dube, Syun Maharaj, Sbanisethu Ndlovu, Siphosethu Shabalala |
| Forder | David Colenbrander (C.), Mzwamandla Manana (VC.), Hayden Goddard, Reilly Hadden, Liyemikhaya Sishi, Matthew Smith, Justin van der Merwe |
| Fuller | Sbu Mchunu (C.), Edson Sobwe (VC.), Brandon Botha, Ben Bryant, Linamandla Mabanga, Jack Nettleton, Samkelo Simamane |
| Lamond | Sipho Mchunu (C.), Thomas Foster (VC.), Nicholas Adam, Jaun Jordaan, Fezile Kunene, Lesley Mukorera, Zanokuhle Tsabedze |
| Nicholson | Lynton Fitz (C.), Matthew Lock (VC.), Brendan Barnard, Nathan Curry, Likhona Kosani, Masomusa Myaka, Oliver Pritchard |
| Pape | Sakhokuhle Xaba (C.), Zizo Canham (VC.), Cebolenkosi Khumalo, Ignatius Lindeque, Luke Mackay-Leslie, Raees Sheikh |
| Snow | Lungelo Hadebe (C.), Jayden Goatley (VC.), Njabulo Dlamini, James Gotte, Ntando Khanye, Kaelim Moodley |
| Strachan | Enoxolo Mpapa (C.), Caleb Sweetnam (VC.) Dylan Gademan, Heath Hackland, Aphiwe Hadebe
Niyal Naidoo |