The Wilgenhof Alumni Association has slammed the University of Stellenbosch’s council for accepting the “deceptive behaviour” of chair Nicky Newton-King and vice-chancellor Wim de Villiers who concealed amendments to a report that recommended the closure of the residence.
The association has also proposed a facilitated dialogue as an alternative.
It said it would proceed with a legal challenge of the panel’s report after the council on Monday confirmed its earlier decision that the residence must be closed and reopened “as a reimagined male residence”.
Monday’s council meeting followed a report by retired Constitutional Court justice Johann Kriegler that the nondisclosure of the amendment was material and that Newton-King and De Villiers were duty-bound to reveal the amendment.
“The council’s response to this was inaction, thereby condoning unethical leadership. Despite the finding that the Wilgenhof report was significantly altered to achieve a predetermined outcome, the council is seemingly still set on executing previous decisions that are largely based on a now thoroughly discredited report,” the association said in a statement.
“The interference has been documented not just by the panel, who conducted thorough examinations of all the major role players, but also by another retired Constitutional Court justice — [university] chancellor Edwin Cameron who, in an affidavit to the Western Cape High Court, set out the precise circumstances surrounding the university leadership’s deception. That affidavit was filed in the Wilgenhof Alumni Association’s case against the Wilgenhof report.
“The Wilgenhof Alumni Association is continuing with its legal action against the materially flawed and defamatory report, asking the court to set aside the report as well as all decisions based on it.
“The Wilgenhof Alumni Association is also considering whether the current court application should be broadened to include the decisions made by the council at yesterday’s meeting.”
The council decided Newton-King and De Villiers had “erred” in not informing council about amendments to the De Jager panel report, and accepted they had not “acted maliciously, or in bad faith, or with any intention of influencing the decisions made by council related to Wilgenhof residence”.
Problems besetting Wilgenhof came to the fore in a series of reports by News24 in January of abusive initiation rituals that left some of the victims scarred for decades.
DA spokesperson Willie Aucamp said the university’s council had failed to hold De Villiers and Newton-King accountable.
“A report by retired Constitutional Court judge Johann Kriegler into the conduct of De Villiers and Newton-King found that they misled, or withheld information from, the council. Yet, in the face of this, a majority of members of the university council voted against holding them to account,” Aucamp said.
“The committee on higher education in parliament should now hear submissions on the findings of the report into the conduct of De Villiers and Newton-King, hearing from the retired judge who investigated the matter, and hearing how and why the council has failed to hold them to account.
“The committee may then make recommendations to the minister to intervene, to uphold and restore the rule of law at Stellenbosch University.”
Established in 1903, some of Wilgenhof’s notable alumni include anti-apartheid activist Beyers Naudé, and business titans such as Christo Wiese, Whitey Basson, Paul Harris and Michael Jordaan.
Update: December 3 2024
This story has been updated with more comment.
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