After the tumult of the Rhodes-Must-Fall and Fees-Must-Fall protests, there were sweeping, and race-based changes to the staffing, management and curriculum of the University of Cape Town. These changes were made under duress of a violent and racially motivated mass movement.

Now, the appointments made, and the work environment created by these changes have come under scrutiny, as the entitlement, discrimination and incompetence it has engendered have disrupted the university’s governance in a public way.

These controversies have included public endorsement of a student’s pro-genocide Honours’ thesis by the VC, and the general impunity of lecturers with bold and racially hateful views, particularly Professor Lwazi Lushaba.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) initiated an independent investigation in 2022 to probe the circumstances surrounding the termination of Associate Professor Lis Lange's contract as Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) for Teaching and Learning on April 30, 2022.

What follows is a summary of the findings of the investigation, the full version of which can be found here.

Introduction

The controversy began after the extension of the Vice Chancellor (VC), Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng's tenure was approved in March 2022, without disclosing DVC in charge of Teaching and Learning, Professor Lis Lange's impending departure.

The Executive Committee (Exco) was perceived to be dysfunctional, partially due to the VC's leadership, and there were resignations from the Exco, including Professor Loretta Feris and Dr. Russel Ally, who had been forced to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), around which there were contradictory statements regarding the voluntariness of these departures.

After an initial attempt to block the investigation, the Council confirmed the appointment of an independent panel in November 2022, led by Retired Justices Mpati and Cachalia, Dr. Hanekom, and Dr. Johnson, to investigate the circumstances of Lange's departure, the resignations of other senior leaders, and governance failures.

In March 2023, UCT reached an agreement with Phakeng for her to step down as VC, which expanded the scope of the inquiry to include matters going back to 2018, when the sweeping changes began.

The Pityana Council

Phakeng cause significant headaches for the Pityana council. Phakeng joined UCT in January 2017 as the Deputy VC for Research and Internationalization and was soon bumped up to VC the next year by the Selection Committee, chaired by Sipho Pityana, despite serious concerns about her behaviour and leadership abilities. On the basis of this recommendation, and promises she would make amends to her colleagues, the Senate and Council supported her appointment.

However, Phakeng's tenure as VC began with her abusing her power by targeting senior executives, including Professor Loretta Feris and Associate Professor Lis Lange, using race as a weapon in her interactions, offending and alienating colleagues by emphasizing racial differences.

Phakeng would attack Coloured colleagues for being insufficiently black, and whites for any available reason, and was known to engage in unhinged rage-induced rants which reduced colleagues to tears. Beata Mtyingizana, the Director of the International Academic Programmes Office, was so terrorised by Phakeng that it caused her health to deteriorate, and she had to leave work.

A typical communiqué from Phakeng was given to her outgoing predecessor Max Price. Instead of working towards a smooth handover of responsibilities, Phakeng immediately and aggressively ostracised and attacked her predecessor in a department-copied email:

“1.  For the next 12 months, you may not address any UCT constituency on or off campus, unless you    are requested by the Vice-Chancellor. 

2.  If you want to suggest anything to the sitting VC, you may not copy anyone in the university.

3.  Make sure that you copy the VC in all your correspondence about what the sitting VC of UCT or the executive should or should not be doing to advance the work of the university. [Y]our presence destroys my confidence, energy and creativity and I can never perform at my best if you linger around because you always find fault with everything I do…I also indicated to you that we need you and I would like it to be possible for us as the leadership to be able to call on you as and when we need to – this, however, should be at our discretion.  You should never make an effort to make us feel that we should need you more than we do.”.

By 2020, the ombud had outlined 37 complaints against Phakeng, focusing on her bullying, humiliation, and disrespectful behavior towards colleagues.

Pityana protected Phakeng by initially withholding this from the Council. Budlender disagreed and resigned from Council. After much procrastination, the council finally resolved to appoint an external facilitator to address the issues raised in the report.

The investigation revealed a lack of effective governance and action within the Pityana Council regarding the leadership challenges posed by the VC.

Ngonyama council

In 2022, after the turmoil caused by the Ombud’s report, a new council was elected. Phakeng had now resigned, but the Council did not act on these complaints. Frustrated by the Council's inaction, the Ombud published the report on UCT's website.

The new Council was immediately divided by those loyal to Phakeng (e.g., chairperson Ngonyama) and those who wished to see accountability. In September, Council voted to punish the Ombud for leaking the information about the leadership’s behaviour and refusal to hold each other to account. The charges were eventually dropped, and the Ombud left UCT when her contract expired in December 2020.

The panel overseeing these events concluded that the case against the Ombud was initiated to suppress the allegations of misconduct, and found the threat to institute disciplinary proceedings against the Ombud was unlawful, under the Protected Disclosures Act.

Ngonyama contracted a consulting firm to give a friendlier gloss to the dysfunctional environment, but this failed, because it swept the allegations of misconduct under the rug.

Several senior executives left UCT due to the vicious behaviour of the VC, such as her paranoia, libellous accusations, unhinged ranting, racism, sensitivity and intolerance to criticism or dissent. Ngonyama was found to have pushed for some of these resignations, arguably to get rid of critics, such as Loretta Feris, Russel Ally, and the aforementioned Professor Lange.

Other senior executives, such as Royston Pillay, Reno Morar, and Linda Ronnie, also resigned due to the VC's behavior. Miriam Hoosain, the HR Director, faced increasing politicization of HR, which she believed posed a risk to UCT. Judith du Toit, who worked in the VC's office, also experienced the VC's authoritarian and controlling management style, which led to her taking early retirement.

The case of Prof Ramagondo

Professor Elelwani Ramugondo is the current Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) for Transformation, Student Affairs, and Social Responsiveness. She was appointed in July 2022 and served on both the Pityana and Ngonyama Councils.

In 2017, Ramugondo competed with Lange for the position of DVC for Teaching and Learning at UCT but was not appointed, and accused Lange her of misrepresenting credentials and argued that her race should have been the determining factor in the selection process.

Ramugondo publicly embarrassed the university by initiating a frivolous and racially charged litigation against Lange, and ranted about it on social media. She lied about this media post under oath, was found to have lied, and the panel recommended disciplinary action against her due to her personal animosity and her support for racially offensive statements made in Council.

Conclusion and recommendations:

The report highlights the following governance failures:

1. The inadequacy of leadership, experience, and knowledge among those in key positions.
2. Council's collective failure to address the abuse of power by senior office bearers, which infringed on the rights of individuals and undermined the institution's harmony and equity.
3. Failure by both Pityana and Ngonyama Councils to hold the Vice-Chancellor (VC) accountable and address her problematic behavior, including ignoring complaints against the VC.
4. The Ngonyama Council's executive overreach, partiality, and violation of governance rules.
5. The assumption of management functions by Ngonyama, creating multiple chains of command.
6. Ngonyama's role in terminating contracts of senior executives, including Feris and Lange, and the resignation of Ally.
7. Misleading by Ngonyama and the VC regarding the circumstances of Lange's resignation, hindering investigations.

And the following breaches of law and policy:

1. Unlawful termination of contracts for DVCs Lange and Feris.
2. Violation of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) by publishing defamatory statements about Lange.
3. Breach of UCT's conflict of interest policy by multiple Council members, including the Chairperson of Council, the Deputy Chairperson of Council, the VC, and Ramugondo.
4. VC and Ngonyama's breach of Council's Code of Conduct.
5. Unprofessional conduct by Phakeng, including threats, intimidation, ethnic slurs, and posting racially offensive material on social media.
6. Unlawful suspension of Kruger and violation of her rights.
7. Violation of Lange's right to equality and nondiscrimination.
8. Breach of Council's Code of Conduct by Lushaba.
9. Unlawful threats by Ngonyama against the Ombud for a protected disclosure.

Recommendations to address governance issues:

1. Clearly demarcate the roles of Council and the VC.
2. Review the selection process for Council members to ensure they meet legal and governance requirements.
3. Provide induction and training for all Council members.
4. Improve the assessment and selection process for the VC and DVCs.
5. Ensure proper functioning and record-keeping of delegated structures.
6. Improve HR department practices and maintain accurate records.
7. Enforce Council's Code of Conduct against errant members.
8. Implement and enforce all UCT policies, including antibullying and social media policies.
9. Carefully define the Ombud's mandate to avoid interference in disciplinary processes.

‍The report also provides recommendations regarding specific individuals, including reporting misconduct, instituting disciplinary proceedings, and public apologies for wronged individuals. Lwazi Lushaba was named individually, as well as several council members. Recommendations include public apologies, compensation for legal expenses, and settlements for individuals who were wronged by UCT.

Overall, while the report was not given purview to address the ideological changes to administrative culture and course curricula which occurred in the aftermath of the Fallist movement, it provided a crucial insight into the culture it produced at the highest level of the oldest and most prestigious educational institution in South Africa, and shines a light on the squalor of the movement's most senior representatives.

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