Remembering Malcolm Siegel: Africa’s Gentle but Fierce Peering Advocate
On 14th October 2020, the African and global Internet technical community learnt of the passing of Malcolm Siegel. An energetic and dedicated colleague and friend to many in the peering and interconnection community. On behalf of the African and global peering community, we solemnly share this tribute in honour and celebration of his contributions in advancement of the shared vision.
Malcolm Siegel was a Cape Town native who spent most of his life in the tech industry. From early dreams of changing the world via tech. Malcolm worked tirelessly to promote, teach, and espouse community, and fraternity, across Africa; qualities that he used to help improve the cost of Internet access, via peering and interconnection.
Driven by the goal of improving the digital landscape in Africa, Malcolm was actively engaged in initiatives and partnerships that supported Internet development. In South Africa, he served on the Board of the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) and was the elected Chair of INX-ZA, the community-run initiative that operates non-profit Internet exchange points in Johannesburg (JINX), Cape Town (CINX), and Durban (DINX). He created the first true “open access” cloud platform in South Africa, as a testament to his entrepreneurship and relentless approach to improving Africa’s Internet autonomy.
The Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) community is like a family that holds a reunion annually.. Malcolm attended his first AfPIF in 2017 and quickly established strong relationships. He played a critical role in leading the organisation of the AfPIF2018@iWeek event, which was hosted in Cape Town, South Africa. The AfPIF2018@iWeek set new highs in participation and logistics coordination. We are forever indebted to his leadership in making that event such a great success.
Driven by his passion for interconnection in Africa, Malcolm volunteered to join the AfPIF’s Program Committee (PC) in 2019. The AfPIF PC consists of volunteers that frame and develop the event’s agenda. As a PC member, he was ever-willing to go the extra mile to ensure that AfPIF’s greater goals of education, inclusion and community development were always met and exceeded.
Malcolm will be fondly remembered for his ability to light up a room through his youthful wit and humour; his ability to drive engaging panel discussions as a moderator , and always ending his sessions with his trademark “audience selfie”.
We shared a common vision for the continent, learned and grew to new heights together. We honour and celebrate his invaluable contributions to the peering and interconnection ecosystem.
The AfPIF, African and global Internet technical community will cherish and miss Malcolm.
In case you are wondering how you can help, Malcolm’s family has set up The Shofar Trust. We invite you to visit The Shofar Trust GoFundMe page where you can donate, share the link with others and post words of encouragement to the family.
No words can express what a true internet hero Malcolm was and how saddened we are by the loss of a member of our internet family. Malcolm was tenacious in his approach to making the internet available for all. A true leader which will always be remembered for his incredible work. All our wishes go out to Malcolm’s family and we thank you for allowing us the opportunity for Malcolm’s magic to touch our lives.
I can’t really find words to express how we all feel about losing you so suddenly from our community. We will miss you man. You did so much for the internet, but that won’t stop because you inspired us all along the journey and we will carry on your work.
Rest in Peace Malcolm!!
Condolences to your wife, kids, family and friends. Huge loss for the industry, but may your legacy live on from the mentor-ship, colleagues and those who knew what you worked on achieving.
I had the privilege to work closely with Malcolm. He has a very unique way of getting something done: Focusing on the end objective and use a bit of humour to colour it along the way. His energy, drive and focus on the detail will be missed by a lot of individuals. Malcolm left a huge gap in the industry. Our sincerely condolences to his family.
I worked alongside Malcom in the PC for a few years. Malcom was a gentle guy with a great sense of humour. He was always there to offer his time and was an amazing MC and moderator who engage with audience. He was witty and made lively conversations. Malcom was a true ambassador for African internet and will be greatly missed.
Rest in peace my friend.
Malcom was a very close friend and we shared some very memorable moments from AFPIF 2017 in Abidjan till the very last moments of his life. He will be remembered for his energetic contributions to the internet and peering community. We have lost someone who had the community advancement at heart.
Our sincere condolences to the family and to the community at large.