UCT Academics’ Union to UCT Council: Stop unlawful decisions or face legal action

Lawyers have entered the fray at the University of Cape Town, where a governance crisis continues to unfold.

On Monday, law firm Webber Wentzel sent a letter to members of the UCT Council demanding action on behalf of its clients, the UCT Academics’ Union. The union represents full- and part-time academic staff at UCT.

The letter, seen by Daily Maverick, makes reference to the UCT Council meeting on Thursday, 6 October 2022 at which council members voted to launch an investigation into the UCT Senate rather than look into governance concerns around university vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng and council chair Babalwa Ngonyama.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-10-03-dark-days-accusations-of-capture-and-governance-instability-rock-uct/

Phakeng and Ngonyama did not recuse themselves from the vote, causing almost half the council to subsequently go public with a statement expressing serious concerns about both the council meeting and the wider governance issues at play.

The legal letter sent to the UCT Council on Monday describes the proceedings of the council meeting in question as “unlawful”, as a result of “the conflict of interest and bias on the part of the Council Chair, Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Chair of Council [Pheladi Gwangwa] as well the unlawfulness, irrationality and unreasonableness of its decisions”.

Following the public expression of dissent by council members, chair Ngonyama performed an apparent U-turn.

Ngonyama released a statement on Saturday, 8 October announcing that she would “call for an independent investigation, led by a retired judge”, that would investigate both the UCT Senate and the governance concerns around her and Phakeng’s actions.

“I will ask Council to reconsider its decision of 6 October 2022,” Ngonyama wrote.

She added her ideas for the process to be followed in setting up such an investigation: “The terms of reference should be developed jointly by Council, Senate and our wider multi-stakeholder body, the Institutional Forum.”

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-10-07-uct-council-publicly-splits-over-governance-allegations-as-vc-and-chair-fail-to-recuse-themselves-from-vote/

Ngonyama’s reversal has not mollified the Academics’ Union. In Monday’s lawyers’ letter, Ngonyama’s statement is described as doubly problematic.

“The Council Chair’s letter dated 8 October 2022 underscores and perpetuates the bias and conflict of interest in circumstances where a party under investigation is able to select the process and timing of investigation, the identity of the investigator and instruct the investigator,” the union writes.

“This is contrary to legislation, the common law, the UCT Statute and the UCT’s conflict of interests policy.”

The investigation into the senate championed by Phakeng, Ngonyama and their supporters is on the basis of a supposed procedural breach in the body’s meeting of Friday, 30 September, when a letter was read out on behalf of former senior administrator Lis Lange claiming that Ngonyama had misled the body about the circumstances of her departure from her post.

Lawyers for the Academics’ Union say the senate’s conduct was “within the scope of its powers”, and that the “alleged procedural issues with the manner in which the Senate meeting unfolded are without foundation”.

The union is demanding that the UCT Council hold a special council meeting in the next five days to:

• Adopt the resolution favoured by dissenting council members, to establish an independent panel headed by a retired judge or similar to investigate governance concerns and Phakeng and Ngonyama’s conduct;


• Reverse the resolution taken to investigate the senate; and


• Reaffirm the integrity of the senate.