Maties management & council turned Wilgenhof debacle into an institutional crisis - Alumni association
The Wilgenhof Alumni Association said that the actions of Stellenbosch University's management and council had turned the Wilgenhof debacle into an institutional crisis.
The Wilgenhof residence at Stellenbosch University. Picture: Facebook/WilgenhofResidence
CAPE TOWN - The Wilgenhof Alumni Association said that the actions of Stellenbosch University's management and council had turned the Wilgenhof debacle into an institutional crisis.
The Wilgenhof residence made headlines this year after disturbing items related to past initiation practices were found in its archives.
An independent panel appointed to probe any wrongdoings then received a report from the university council related to Wilgenhof.
The report led the panel to make a recommendation which spurred the university's decision to close Wilgenhof to be refurbished next year.
Chancellor and former Constitutional Court justice, Edwin Cameron, produced evidence that Rector Wim de Villiers and council chair, Nicky Newton-King, altered the report before it was handed to the university council.
The university council this week cleared De Villiers and Newton-King of any wrongdoing, saying they believed they were acting in the best interests of the university.
Spokesperson for the Wilgenhof Alumni Association, Jaco Rabie, said it's the second time the university decided to abandon its own processes.
"First, when the Wilgenhof report didn't give the answers they wanted, the rector and council chair simply decided it should be amended. And now, when council is faced with the highly inconvenient findings of a panel they themselves appointed, they just wave it away as if it's a minor nuisance."
Rabie said that the council's inaction would have severe and lasting consequences.