SU interference in Wilgenhof panel report not explained by affidavit
30 October 2024
The Stellenbosch University (SU) Council, the highest decision-making body of the university, will meet on Friday after revelations by former Constitutional Court judge Edwin Cameron that the Rector and Council Chair interfered in an independent report on Wilgenhof.
Both Cameron's affidavit, as well as advocate Nick de Jager's recent answer to it, were filed in relation to a court application brought by the Wilgenhof Alumni Association earlier this month. The Alumni Association consists of thousands of former Wilgenhof residents.
It is important to note that the Alumni Association’s court application is distinct from legal action initiated by the Association for the Advancement of Wilgenhof Residents (AWIR), which was recently settled. AWIR consists of over 360 current residents and their parents. Because of AWIR’s settlement, the disruption to current Wilgenhof residents will be kept to a minimum and the community will not be broken up and scattered.
The Alumni Association's court action, however, is still ongoing and sets out how the panel's methods and their final report was unlawful, irrational, executed in a procedurally unfair manner, without considering relevant factors, and while accepting sensational news coverage as fact. The report and the decisions flowing from it have led to severe reputational damage for Wilgenhof and its alumni.