Johnathan Paoli
Former University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng has responded to the recent damning panel report on her conduct while at the university, by claiming the allegations contained in it were not only inaccurate, but were damaging to her reputation.
“I will study the report further with my legal team and I will take appropriate steps, as deemed necessary, in due course,” Phakeng said in a short statement.
Phakeng was responding to a 179-page report from an independent panel, led by Judge Lex Mpati, released on Friday which found her and council chair Babalwa Ngonyama guilty of ‘serious governance failures’.
The report also alleged that the former VC acted in an abusive and violent manner against top executive members of the management team and also contained testimonies and other evidence to her infamous tenure and the manner in which the university council protected her.
Phakeng said due to the litigious nature of the matter, and based on the advice of her legal team that she would not be conducting any interviews at this stage.
The report found that Phakeng engaged in activity that was prohibited in the UCT workplace, including using threats, intimidation, ethnic slurs, personal insults and also posting racially offensive material on social media.
Phakeng was further accused of instituting petty charges if she disliked a staff member or academic which saw about eight individuals resign or retire “prematurely” due to her conduct, creating a “toxic work environment”.
Allegedly her victims included former deputy vice-chancellor of transformation, Loretta Feris, who according to the report, was a victim of an abuse of power, often in the presence of others, by the VC over a protracted period of more than three years.
In addition, Ngonyama was implicated in the report as assisting Phakeng in her actions and behaved unprofessionally by berating Feris in a council meeting, shortly before initiating her removal.
“To conclude that Ngonyama and Phakeng’s conduct during this period amounted to a governance failure would be an understatement. In an attempt to shield themselves from accountability, they subverted the policies and procedures of UCT,” the panel said.
In line with their recommendations, the panel suggested that a written public apology be made to eight individuals for the circumstances giving rise to their resignations and commending them for their meritorious service to UCT.
While Phakeng is seeking legal advice Ngonyama has not directly responded to questions.
However, Vukile Property Fund Limited’s board of directors announced that she resigned as an independent non-executive director of the company, as chairperson and member of the audit and risk committee on Thursday.
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