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By Edwin Naidu 
1 hour ago
Cape Town – Amidst the tension at the University of Cape Town, ombud Zetu Makamandela-Mguqulwa faces the ax after his report called the chancellor, Mamokgethi Phakeng, a “bully.”
Your refusal to amend your report has resulted in the registrar Royston Pillay serving you an email notification of suspension this week.
The suspension follows several failed attempts by the chairman of the council, Babalwa Ngonyama, to curb the ombud and repair the relationship between Phakeng and Makamandela-Mguqulwa.
Pillay sent an email to Makamandela-Mguqulwa asking him to attend a meeting at Ngonyama’s request.
“The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the allegations of misconduct against you. Miriam Hoosain will be present as representative of human resources in terms of UCT policies and processes ”.
In a second email, Pillay said: “The meeting was intended to inform you (Makamandela-Mguqulwa) that UCT has learned of the misconduct allegations against you and intends to suspend it pending the outcome of the investigation into those accusations “.
“You have the right to be accompanied by a representative, either a fellow employee of your choice or, alternatively, a representative from your recognized UCT union,” he wrote.
The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 10 am on campus.
Makamandela-Mhekwa said she was seeking legal advice.
The push to get rid of the ombud began last month when Ngonyama in a letter to council members on August 18 accused Makamandela-Mguqulwa of being a “law unto itself.”
“In my opinion, the point has been reached where the council has to take a firm stand on this matter. We cannot allow this situation to continue when the ombud believes that it is above the advice. This would be a very dangerous precedent to set. I am also aware of the fact that her term ends in December 2020, ”Ngonyama wrote.
Ngonyama told council members that the mediation had failed and that the relationship between Phakeng and the ombud had broken down after the report was released in July. In the report, the ombud expressed the concern of 37 academics who accused Phakeng of bullying.
The report says that 663 people complained about university-related issues, and 37 had complained about the rector’s conduct where “people felt intimidated, silenced, undermined, reprimanded and / or treated unfairly.”
The latest volley follows meetings between the ombud and Ngonyama with the council’s vice president, Nazeema Mohamed, during which pressures were made to either take over the doctor or remove the reference to the intimidation allegations against Phakeng.
The ombud office was established in 2011 to demonstrate a commitment to fair, just and equitable treatment of every member of the university community, but nothing has been done about the allegations of bullying.
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