A former Rhodes University Student Representative Council (SRC) president faces possible exclusion from the institution after being charged with six disciplinary offences following student protests over the university’s proposed 2027 fee-payment protocol.
Simphiwe Mnyande is due to appear before a disciplinary hearing on 9 November, where he will answer to allegations relating to his participation in protests on 29 September.
The charges include allegedly infringing on the rights of other members of the university community, interfering with safety and security, disrupting university governance and interfering with teaching, learning and the maintenance of order. He is also accused of conduct likely to bring the university into disrepute.
The university alleges that protesters blocked access to and from campus, disrupting operations and preventing staff, students and service providers from entering or leaving the institution.
Mnyande said he had been singled out because of his history in student leadership and his previous involvement in student protests.
“They are just charging me because they saw me participating in the protest, a protest that I did not even start. The SRC started the protest,” he said.
Mnyande said he believed the university was using his previous disciplinary history against him, referring to proceedings arising from protests in 2025.
He also questioned why he appeared to be the only student facing disciplinary charges arising from the September protest. He said the other students who were involved, including members of the current SRC leadership, had not been charged.
He has since met his lawyer, who wrote to Rhodes University requesting that the hearing be postponed, allowing him time to prepare for his upcoming trial examinations. Mnyande said the university had not yet responded to the request.
In a statement dated 29 October, Rhodes University campus protection manager, Dipeso Joel Mabotja, said the protest had prevented staff, students, service providers and members of the public from accessing the campus.
Mabotja said lectures and academic activities had been brought to a virtual standstill shortly before the end-of-year examinations and days before the university’s graduation ceremony on 2 October. Support staff had been unable to work and no food had been prepared for students on campus that day.
He said he had encountered Mnyande at the intersection of Somerset and Prince Alfred streets, where a group of protesters was allegedly blocking access to the university. Mabotja also referred to video footage and a photograph of Mnyande, published by Grocott’s Mail on 2 October, as evidence of his alleged involvement.
The disciplinary action comes amid wider tension over the financial pressures facing students and the barriers they encounter in accessing and remaining in higher education.
The dispute over Rhodes’ proposed fee-payment protocol led to protests, the arrest of 13 students and criminal charges that the Makhanda Magistrate’s Court later dismissed.
The current proceedings could have serious consequences for Mnyande. The university’s notice states that if he is found guilty, it will seek to enforce a suspended exclusion imposed after disciplinary proceedings in April 2025.
This could result in his exclusion from Rhodes University, though it is not automatic and will depend on the disciplinary process.
Rhodes University also sought an interim interdict after the protests. According to Mabotja’s statement, the order was granted on 30 September and made final on 29 October after the application was not opposed. Mnyande was cited as the fourth respondent in the application.
The court proceedings are separate from the disciplinary hearing and do not establish whether he is guilty of the charges against him.
Rhodes University declined to respond to questions from the Mail & Guardian, saying the matter was sub judice.
Mnyande’s hearing is scheduled to take place at the Rhodes University legal unit in Makhanda on 9 November, subject to the university’s response to his lawyer’s request for a postponement.