Update on SRC President

4 May 2015
MESSAGE FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR AND PRINCIPAL
Dear Students
As of today, Mr Mcebo Dlamini is no longer President or a
member of the Students Representative Council (SRC). In
February 2015, Mr Dlamini was found guilty of misconduct by a
disciplinary panel and given a sentence of, inter alia, one year
suspended exclusion in respect of each charge against him. In
terms of the SRC Constitution, a member of the SRC ceases to be
a member if s/he is found guilty of misconduct by a Student
Disciplinary Committee. The SRC member may appeal against
his/her removal.
Mr Dlamini appealed to me and asked that I defer his standing
down from the SRC pending the outcome of a review of the
disciplinary panels decision. I agreed, provided that the review
was completed within 14 days. Unfortunately, this did not
happen. I met Mr Dlamini on 22 April 2015 and informed him that
it was not in the best interests of the University for him to continue
to hold office while having a disciplinary finding against him. I
gave him until 30 April 2015 to make written representations to
me regarding why I should not withdraw my decision for him to
continue in office.
Mr Dlamini then provided a motivation for an extension of my
decision based on the argument that the delay in the legal
process was the fault of the Legal Office. I believe that this
argument is disingenuous since it appears that, inter alia, he did
not submit the relevant documentation to the Legal Office with
enough time before the hearing for the Legal Office and the
Committee to properly consider his arguments. This leads me to

believe that he is deliberately delaying a final decision until the

end of his presidential tenure. To allow this to happen would be
a violation of the SRC constitution and the principle of justice.
Therefore, after consultation with the Chair of Council, Dr Randall
Carolissen, I have decided to withdraw my decision for Mr
Dlamini to remain in office. As of immediately, he is required to
stand down from his position in the SRC. Both Mr Dlamini and the
SRC have been informed in this regard. Appropriate provisions
will be made for the continued operations of the SRC.
For the purposes of clarity, I would also like to state that the
separate matter of Mr Dlamini's recent declaration of admiration
for the fascist leader, Adolf Hitler, and what I believe to be racist
comments regarding whites, did not influence my current
decision to require him to step down. However, they cannot be
ignored and I have referred the matter to the Legal Office for
investigation. This matter will take its due course.
I would also like to make it categorically clear that I believe that
these comments violate the fundamental values of Wits
University and that Mr Dlamini has brought our institution into
disrepute. His remarks have provoked multiple complaints from
people of all racial, political and religious persuasions, including
a petition demanding his immediate expulsion from the
University. His subsequent engagements, including a Facebook
post in which he threatened to kill an individual and his children,
even though he may have been provoked, are in my view an
indication that he lacks the maturity that is required of a student
leader who is meant to represent a diverse and cosmopolitan
community of over 30 000 students. As someone who claims to
love this institution, I believe that Mr Dlamini has single-handedly
wrought more damage on its reputation than any other person
who I can think of in at least the last two decades. This damage
has the potential to impact on the credibility of our degrees, and

therefore on the employment prospects of all of our students

and graduates.
There are some in our midst who have argued that the
Universitys principled commitment to free speech means that
Mr Dlamini should not be sanctioned for his comments. I
personally disagree. While I am committed to ensuring that Wits
remains a free space for the contestation of ideas, including
those with which we do not agree, I believe that the officials and
leadership figures of this University must act in accordance with
its values. Leadership in public institutions comes with
responsibilities. It is incumbent on these leaders to act beyond
their individual ambitions to the broader public interest. One is
not compelled to seek office; one does so of ones own volition.
Therefore, one must be willing to take on the burdens of
leadership as much as one experiences its privileges.
There are others who have argued that our responsibility in the
case of errant behaviour by young leaders is to mentor and
develop, rather than sanction. I concur, but mentorship and
development can only be undertaken when a young leader is
willing to learn. There has been continuous engagement with Mr
Dlamini by many people over many months, and in my view,
this has not yielded any change in his conduct.
I am also of the view that one cannot forever appease leaders
(young or old) who violate our values and resort to mobilising on
the basest of human impulses. There must be consequences for
their choices. Our failure as a society to hold such leaders
accountable is partly why our institutions have begun to fray
and why we are subjected to the challenges of corruption,
violence, xenophobia, racism, sexism, inequality and
exploitation. Wits cannot allow itself to repeat this mistake for it
would destroy the very fabric of who we are.

I want to say that this has been a difficult decision, even if some
do not want to believe it. However, it has brought two principles
to the fore. Firstly, it is important to realise that we live in a
constitutional democracy. Even if one is elected by popular
vote, ones behaviour must be in accordance with the values of
the collective. Secondly, it is important for the full student
community to participate in the SRC elections. The vast majority
of our students do not participate in the elections and too many
subsequently complain about their leadership and their
responsiveness to student concerns. If you truly want a
responsive leadership, then it is incumbent on you to take the
initiative and participate in the democratic act of choosing your
own leadership.
I have deliberately chosen to reflect on my reasons for
withdrawing the decision that enabled Mr Dlamini to remain in
the SRC, as well as his recent general conduct, because of our
collective commitment to transparency. I believe that we
cannot demand this of government and others if we are not
prepared to live by this code in our own institutions.
Yours sincerely

Professor Adam Habib

Vice-Chancellor and Principal
University of the Witwatersrand
4 May 2015