Complicated: The inquiry into the university’s vice-chancellor and the university council’s chairperson is tied to reasons the former deputy vice-chancellor of teaching and learning, Lis Lange, left the university.
The departure in May of associate professor Lis Lange, the former deputy vice-chancellor of teaching and learning, has led to claims that the vice-chancellor, Mamokgethi Phakeng, and the chair of the council, Babalwa Ngonyama, have misled the university council about the reasons for her departure.
Lange claims she was forced out while Phakeng and Ngonyama claim she left for “personal reasons”.
Lange left two months after a Constitutional Court challenge of her appointment was dropped. There were allegations that she misrepresented her professional status when applying for the deputy vice-chancellor post.
Two courts dismissed these allegations in 2020 and found that the appointment was rational and reasonable.
The case was pursued all the way to the constitutional court last year by the deputy vice-chancellor of transformation, Elelwani Ramugondo, who had been in contention for the role at the time and believed that she had a reasonable chance of success.
In their submission, Ramugondo and Black Academic Caucus said Ramugondo did not want Lange’s job, but wanted to ensure that UCT understood it was critical for a just administrative process when making such appointments. The university was the first respondent. Former vice-chancellor Max Price, as executive head and his key role in the selection process, was the second respondent, and Lange was the third respondent.
After disappointment in the high court, the matter went to the supreme court of appeal but the supreme court of appeal judge president declared there was no prospect of success. The UCT registrar, Royston Pillay, said in court papers that the university stood by Lange because she had performed similar duties at University of the Free State.
In 2021, Ramugondo and the Black Academic Caucus applied to the constitutional court for leave to appeal on grounds of institutional racism and unfair procedures.
However an amicable solution was reached.
Ramugondo decided with the caucus to drop the case in March 2022, informing the court accordingly, after agreeing in November 2021 to join the UCT executive team that included Lange. After being on sabbatical, Ramugondo assumed her post with the executive on 1 July.
But the Black Academic Caucus clarified that the withdrawal for leave to appeal was not founded on the changing legal principle of administrative justice. “It was an olive branch seeking to resolve the matter amicably by withdrawing from the case to ensure harmony,” said a caucus member.
Lange’s departure in May was not the end of the saga. Council members have since accused Phakeng and Ngonyama of governance irregularities after conflicting reports of her exit emerged.
The catalyst for the drama was a senate meeting on 30 September, where acting chairperson Sue Harrison allowed senate member Tom Moultrie to read Lange’s letter in breach of protocol. Ngonyama was absent and not asked to explain herself, and Phakeng was abroad on sabbatical.
The council met last Saturday to discuss the terms of the reference for the inquiry into Phakeng and Ngonyama. On Saturday at 9am, proceedings began virtually with discussions led by Ngonyama until she and Phakeng recused themselves at 12.30pm.
Deliberations followed with deputy chairperson Pheladi Gwangwa also being asked to recuse herself because, in the words of some council members, she was conflicted by an article she had written on the matter on the UCT website.
She responded: “I shall not be removed; what you did to the chairperson will not be repeated here.”
Deliberations turned to whether the three senate members, Danwood Chirwa, Ntobeko Ntusi and Jacques Rousseau, should recuse themselves because they had already “convicted” Ngonyama in her absence at the 30 September meeting.
Last Saturday’s council meeting also debated the actions of 14 council members who had stated the meeting on 6 October was “irregular” and “flawed”.
A council member, who did not want to be named, said it was ironic that the 14 had turned a blind eye to the governance breach by the senate.
Although she has no voting rights, Harrison’s presence was also labelled a conflict of interest because she had presided over the senate meeting in which Ngonyama was repeatedly branded a liar.
Lange’s narrative was accepted at the senate and council meetings.
By about 7pm, it was agreed that a sub-committee would compile names of retired judges and independent panel members to head the inquiry, which will look into reasons for the departure of executives under Phakeng. It has emerged that 11 have left since 2018, with seven of them retirements. Phakeng is in the United States at the University of Miami, where she has been invited to deliver two academic lectures. Lange was asked to comment but had not done so at the time of publication. — © Higher Education Media Services
This article has been updated on 8 March 2023, with a new headline and several paragraphs of the original article deleted.
The original article, headlined “New twist in UCT saga as enquiry into vice-chancellor takes shape”, also referred to disclosures made in an application to the constitutional court in 2021 by the deputy vice-chancellor of transformation, Elelwani Ramugondo regarding Prof Lis Lange’s academic credentials. However, the article failed to make it clear that the matter had already been dismissed by the Cape Town High Court in February 2020, and that applications for leave to appeal had been refused by the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal. The application for leave to appeal to the Constitutional had been withdrawn in March 2022. There was thus no “new twist”.
The courts have ruled that Lange’s appointment was reasonable and this matter was no longer in dispute.
Mail & Guardian retracts the original headline and has deleted the paragraphs referencing Lange’s appointment as unreasonable. We apologise to Lange for any harm caused.
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