PRESS: RELEASE: REQUEST FOR COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY INVESTIGATION INTO NWU POTCHEFSTROOM CAMPUS; URGENT TRANSFORMATION OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION

The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN), acting on behalf of its alumni members, hereby officially rejects the validity and findings of the official NWU investigation report (see here - PDF) into the death of student, Mr Thabang Makhoang conducted by Adv. Vusi Pikoli and Adv. Lourens de Koning and hereby further requests the Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Ndzimande to order an urgent Commission of Enquiry investigation into the NWU to probe amongst others:-

• The true circumstances under which the student (Mr Thabang Makhoang) died
• The alleged complicity of the NWU management in the concealment of information
• The alleged presence of racist workplace and employment practices at the university

Our rejection of the NWU report by Adv Pikoli and De Koning and urgent request to the Minister of Higher Education's intervention is based on new revelations of credible information that has come to our attention about the alleged existence of video footage relating to the student's death.

1.1 Existence of Video Footage on Thabang Makhoang's death

The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN) is in possession of written statements from five former security guards of the North West University (NWU) Potchefstroom Campus including the audio testimony of Mr Nicholas Mbaliso, a former Control Room security employee of the NWU Potchefstroom Campus that alleged the existence of the aforesaid video footage. The audio footage is downloadable here.

Mr Mbaliso served as Control Room Supervisor on the day of the student's death and played a key role in interacting with the key person who discovered the student's body until the reporting of the incident to the university security and the South African Police Services (SAPS). This new significant development lies contrary to the NWU's original allegation that no such video evidence exists.

The audio footage by Mr Mbaliso, (originally aired through Aganang FM community radio station) indicates:-

1. How the NWU management provided false statements to the police and media regarding the circumstances of the student's death.

2. How the NWU management unsuccessfully attempted to stop Mr Mbaliso from looking at the video footage of Mr Makhoang's drowning.

3. How Mr Mbaliso viewed the tape containing footage into the drowning of the student and thereafter made a statement based on the chronological order of events as a key witness and according to what he has seen.

4. How video evidence has been tampered with and video cameras removed from the real crime scene.

5. How the NWU management subsequently pressurised Mr Mbaliso to alter his original statement regarding the circumstances of the death of the student.

6. How the NWU management malevolently stage-managed and sanitized the "official investigation" into the death of the student conducted by Adv. Vusi Pikoli and Adv. L. De Koning through:-

• Preventing key witnesses such as Mr Mbaliso from being interviewed
• Ensuring the presence of a university legal advisor during the interviewing of witnesses

7. How the NWU management failed to provide requisite protection and investigation as an employer when Mr Mbaliso was subsequently physically assaulted and threatened with death in the university workplace by the Director of NWU Protection and Security Services (Mr Dolf Engels) allegedly in the presence of a senior uniformed member of the South African Police Services (SAPS) identified as Lt-Colonel Brazer for refusing to change his statement about the circumstances of the student's death.

8. How the NWU management embarked on a conspiracy and summarily dismissed Mr Mbaliso and five other university security personnel for various spurious reasons with the objective of removing the above-mentioned from the NWU workplace due to their knowledge of the circumstances under which the student died and their persistence in asking questions in this regard.

9. How the South African Parastatals Tertiary Union (SAPTU) malevolently colluded with NWU management by summarily terminating the membership of Mr Mbaliso and five other black security employees, lost the grievance hearing audio tape and also played a role as witnesses in favour of the NWU.

10. How the NWU management subsequently summarily dismissed Dr Ingrid Tufvesson, the NWU's former Executive Advisor on Transformation to Council due to amongst others her knowledge of the above-mentioned matter and the role that she publicly played in supporting the family of the deceased student and influencing the former University Council to enforce liability for the death of the student.

1.2 Withdrawal of Criminal Charges and Continued Witness Intimidation

• The criminal charge for assault laid by Mr Mbaliso against the NWU Director of Security have subsequently been withdrawn without any form of investigations by the South African Police Services (SAPS) in Potchefstroom.
• The criminal case investigations into the death of Mr Thabang Makhoang by the Potchefstroom SAPS is shrouded in mystery and there has not been any official announcement as to the findings of these investigations to date.
• Mr Mbaliso is a victim of daily harassment by certain white policemen from the SAPS Potchefstroom notwithstanding the death threats uttered by the NWU Director of Security that Mr Mbaliso will be killed "before the end of the year". (Mr Mbaliso is abled to identify them)
• There appears to be a conspiracy to hide the truth and suppress any form of investigation by certain senior white SAPS officers, the NWU management and its security employees

Our request for an official Commission of Enquiry is supported by:-

• Ongoing threats to Mr Mbaliso's life
• The summary dismissal of five security employees
• The summary dismissal of the Executive Advisor on transformation to Council, Dr Tufvesson
• The university's claim that no video footage of the student's death exists
• The complicity of senior white NWU Potchefstroom management and SAPS officials in the intimidation of Mr Mbaliso as a key witness
• The continuing cover-up of information relating to the SAPS investigations into the student's death as well as the Coroner's Report

The HETN has repeatedly asserted its view that the North West University (NWU) institutional merger, under Prof Theuns Eloff's leadership is steeped in dysfunction and is characterized by victimization and racist workplace practices. It is the view of the HETN that the leadership of the NWU Potchefstroom and Institutional office have to take collective responsibility should any further harm come to Mr Mbaliso.

The HETN will not rest until justice has been served and has accordingly written official correspondence for intervention to:-

1 The Minister of Higher Education

2 Provincial Commissioner SAPS North West province, Lt-General Zukiswa Mbombo

3 South African Human Rights Commission

4 Public Protector

5 Department of Labour (racist workplace practices and non-compliance with Employment Equity Act)

6 Presidency of the Republic of South Africa

7 Independent Police Investigations Directorate (IPID)

The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN) is also planning to lodge an official complaint in support of the dismissed employees with the South African Board for Personnel Practices (SABPP), as a statutory professional body for the human resource management (HRM) profession, to probe the individual and collective complicity of the NWU's human resource management practitioners in implementing racist workplace practices and failing to exercise due diligence.

We condemn the complicity of Higher Education South Africa (HESA) and Solidarity officials in the abovementioned affair and further recommend the intervention of the Ministerial Oversight Committee on Transformation into the North West University (NWU).Any attempts by HESA to interfere with the powers and duties of the Ministerial Committee on Higher Education will be met with strong legal action from the HETN.

2. LEGAL PROFESSIONS BILL

The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN), hereby condemns the ongoing resistance by Law Societies and Bar Councils against the adoption by Parliament of the planned Legal Professions Bill.

It is the strong view of the Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN), that the adoption of the Legal Profession Bill will add value to the transformation of the legal profession and removal of unscrupulous practices by the legal fraternity.

The HETN hereby voices its support for the adoption of the Legal Professions Bill as we believe that state regulation is vital for the professionalization of the legal profession to ensure ethical conduct, accountability to society, application of common registration standards, practices, ethos and conduct by members of the legal profession.

It is the view of the HETN that for far too long, Law Societies and Bar Councils have been allowed to operate as federations of multiple fiefdoms and havens of racism with an oligarchy of lawyers operating free from censure, transparency and accountability for their decisions and actions. All too often the same Law Societies and Bar Councils which now oppose the professionalization of the legal profession have been practicing undesirable practices which serve to benefit themselves as opposed to the society.

Quite often, these unregulated subjective standards have allegedly allowed the proliferation of racism and exclusivism within the ranks of the legal profession.

An example of the above-mentioned alleged unfair and unscrupulous admission practices is the Pretoria Bar Council's Training Committee's allegedly unfairly recommended admission for the children of member senior advocates against the admission policy for the Bar Council and be allegedly allowed to bypass the interview and examination entry selection criteria which are implemented on new pupillage candidates. (see attached as annexure A).

A secondary example of the alleged hypocrisy and double standards practiced by the same Law Societies and Bar Councils is the selective investigation and prosecution of legal practitioners. (see attached as annexure B) . The HETN is in the process of writing formal correspondence to the Pretoria Bar Council enquiring about progress made on the investigation of the above-mentioned complaints.

The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN), fully supports the Legal Professions Bill in transforming the legal profession as we believe that the time has arrived to also hold judges and magistrates who served under the old pre-1994 dispensation accountable in terms of their compliance with the Constitution, ethical conduct and accountability to society.

3. SPIES EQUALITY COURT AFFIDAVIT

The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN) hereby condemns the desperate attempts by Afriforum legal advisor, Mr Willie Spies, to muzzle and gag the HETN‘s Equality Court legal action through a backdoor attempt to induce the court proceedings through reference to a temporary interdict granted by the North Gauteng High Court (Case No: 5786/ 2013).

Contrary to media reports, the granting of the temporary interdict merely temporarily stops us from repeating our allegations about Mr Spies in the public domain until the alleged defamation case initiated by Mr Spies has been finalised by the North Gauteng High Court. The interdict does not stop us from stating our case in front of a duly constituted Equality Court.

In a desperate attempt to conceal his rightwing student background, Mr Spies is resorting to malicious legal tactics through his intent to apply to strike off the record our arguments about his conduct at the University of Pretoria. We believe that these legal tactics border on an abuse of the court system in that Mr Spies wants to gag us from proving our allegations that Mr Spies was not serving the interests of the University of Pretoria during his student days as a member of the Konserwatiewe Party at Tuks (KP-Tuks). Mr Spies's fear of the truth is baffling given that he acknowledges and does not deny his membership of KP-Tuks and Afrikaner Studentewag.

As an organ of civil society and non-profit organisation, we derive our freedom of speech and right to express our opinions from the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and will continuously fight for the aforesaid rights, especially since the above-mentioned case before the Equality Court relates to the greater benefit of SA society.

The HETN further intends to appeal the cost order obtained by Judge Cynthia Pretorius against the HETN in the North Gauteng High Court and believes it is within its constitutional right to consult its legal counsel to appeal the refusal by the judge to recuse herself in the above-mentioned matter.

We believe it is crucial that we appeal the recusal and subsequent cost order due to our concerns that poor communities on behalf of whom we advocate will become afraid to raise pertinent issues which are in the interests of a democratic South African society due to the fear of punitive legal costs and legal executions by those who think they have the power to manipulate and subvert the legal courts system in South Africa.

We remain confident that we have adequate proof of institutional racism against the University of Pretoria and will succeed in this regard in its legal action at the Equality Court.

About the Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN):-

The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN) is an independent network of alumni and graduates from various higher education and further educational institutions across South Africa committed to the process of transformation of education and training to increase equitable and meaningful access to education, skills and learning to eliminate of socio-economic disparities.

Statement issued by Mr Lucky Thekisho: Chairperson of the Board and Mr Reginald Legoabe: Executive Director, Higher Education Transformation Network, March 27 2013

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter