Wilgenhof Alumni Association supports agreement to keep Wilgenhof open but will continue to seek redress for reputational damage
24 October 2024
The Wilgenhof Alumni Association welcomes the agreement that SU has reached with the Association for the Advancement of Wilgenhof Residents (AWIR).
AWIR, which represents current Wilgenhof residents and their parents, came to an agreement with SU which prevents the disruption and fragmentation of the Wilgenhof community for 2025 and beyond.
“This is a welcome development which will go some way to preventing further distress to current Wilgenhof residents, who have had to live with uncertainty about the future of their residence. This has exacted a high emotional toll on them especially during exam time. The settlement will allow students and their families to now plan with more certainty for the 2025 academic year and to minimise further disruption to their lives," said Jaco Rabie, spokesperson for the Wilgenhof Alumni Association.
Despite the Wilgenhof Alumni Association’s earnest and good faith participation in the negotiations with SU, the Alumni Association has however not been able to come to an agreement with SU on its separate application to the High Court. This application seeks to review and set aside the June 2024 report and recommendations by an investigative panel, as well as the decision by the SU Rectorate to accept the panel’s conclusion that Wilgenhof was “irremediable” and should be closed.
The Alumni Association and SU could not agree on key matters relating to reputational damage and the heritage of Wilgenhof.
“The Alumni Association maintains that there remain material flaws in both the investigative report into Wilgenhof and the Rectorate and Council’s decision-making process. This has led to serious reputational harm to former and current Wilgenhof residents and cannot be left to stand,” said Rabie.
The Alumni Association believes that the report is fundamentally flawed, and contains irrational, defamatory and unsustainable findings. This includes baseless speculation on white supremacy, Nazism and Ku Klux Klan-related activities at Wilgenhof.
By not repudiating the report in this latest agreement with AWIR, SU is still falsely perpetuating the stigma that the current iteration of Wilgenhof is an exclusionary, racist space. This is proven to be untrue. Wilgenhof has been a diverse and inclusive community for decades.
The investigative panel and management of SU ignored the many successful and ongoing transformation initiatives at Wilgenhof during their investigation and decision-making processes. The university also withheld access to critical information and reports during the investigation and subsequent consultations. They also seemingly chose to ignore the commitment of the alumni to play a constructive role in a well mediated discussion on how to further improve Wilgenhof and to make sure that it becomes an even more welcoming and supportive space for all South Africans, including the funding for a range of bursary and other forms of support.
The SU Rectorate’s decision to accept the report as fact has caused reputational harm to thousands of former Wilgenhoffers.
It is in the interest of all SU alumni that the flawed process followed by the university since January this year regarding Wilgenhof does not become in any way a precedent. Political expediency and extreme voices inflamed by sensational media coverage should never influence university decision-making. The Alumni Association believes a rational, fact-based ruling by a court of law on the SU's actions will help in this regard.
In the joint statement by SU and AWIR, the university recognised that “current Wilgehof students may have been unfairly labelled, ostracised and isolated” as a result of the events of this year, and “recognises that Wilgenhof students may have experienced unfair victimisation, abuse, reputational harm and trauma.”
The Alumni Association seeks redress for this damage on behalf of former students and will continue to seek an expedited High Court review.
Issued by Gerhard Mulder on behalf Wilgenhof Alumni, 24 October 2024
