UGLY POWER STRUGGLE ROCKS UCT

Student anger at fees issue compounds protracted crisis over vice-chancellor’s leadership

● The University of Cape Town plunged deeper into disruption this week when students began the academic year with a protest that shut down the campus and compounded a crisis over the university’s longrunning leadership battle.

One member of staff at UCT — which was named the top university in Africa last year by Times Higher Education — called the situation “one of the most challenging experiences in an era of several difficult years”. Things were coming to a head “in an ugly power struggle that has ripped the university apart”, said the staff member, who did not want to be identified.

The power struggle centres on vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng, who was reported this week to be on the verge of suspension as a panel headed by retired judge Lex Mpati investigates a governance crisis involving her and council chair Babalwa Ngonyama.

Separately, the student representative council (SRC) launched a protest against the UCT administration for refusing registration or accommodation to students whose fees were in arrears above a certain threshold.

Students arrived on campus on Monday — the first day of their first year for some — to be met with barricades and human chains. Academics got the same treatment and were then told by management to teach online.

SRC vice-president Swazi Hlophe said the SRC wanted the academic programme to be halted completely “until all those eligible for registration who were blocked because of outstanding fees [are] registered”.

She said the SRC was using “the most peaceful methods”.

“We are well versed with university policies and we are educated individuals who understand the policies. Any time we do anything it is because we have first communicated along the assigned channels.”

The executive management accused students of acting unlawfully and later said it had reached an agreement to assist students blocked from registering due to outstanding fees.

But the SRC denied an agreement had been reached and kept the campus shut, despite the university’s instruction to staff and students to return to regular classes. On Friday, UCT obtained an interim interdict in a bid to halt the SRC protest action.

Amid the chaos, the law faculty denounced the protests as a dangerous situation and accused the executive of having failed to warn staff and to take precautions despite having known about the planned SRC action in advance. The dean of the law faculty, Danwood Chirwa, sent a scathing letter to the executive accusing campus protection services of doing nothing to protect those who were being intimidated by the SRC.

Speaking on behalf of his faculty, Chirwa said: “The executive has continued to be complicit in institutionalising a culture of disruption of academic activities, intimidation, harassment and assault of staff and students.”

He said the faculty was concerned that the university was acting in “such an unlawful and negligent manner and compromising our professional and moral responsibilities in the process”. He blamed “institutional silence and inaction” for “allowing this state of affairs to take place”.

Asked about the protests and governance issues at the university, UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said: “UCT notes with concern the conflation of unrelated issues in this query.” He confirmed the Mpati probe into Phakeng and Ngon-yama had begun. “On more than a few occasions, [Phakeng] publicly stated that she welcomes and will fully co-operate with the independent panel.”

Moholola denied reports about the vicechancellor’s imminent suspension published during the week in Daily Maverick and Business Day.

After the reports, Phakeng purportedly sent a WhatsApp message to the senior management of UCT leadership saying she knew nothing about any suspension. “Dear colleagues, while we are managing the protest, Daily Maverick has released breaking news that I have been suspended. While I acknowledge that Daily Maverick always knows more than I do about decisions in and about UCT, I think it is important that I make you aware that I know nothing about this and therefore will remain in office and active until I receive formal notification from HR.”