In 2005,
The Mail and Guardian newspaper published an opinion piece by Professor Makgoba entitled "The wrath of the dethroned white male" which compared the behaviour of
white South African males in post-Apartheid South Africa to "baboons or bonobos" who had lost their
alpha status, and were in need of "treatment and proper African rehabilitation".
[33] This article was debated heavily in the press, and provoked a response the following week from Robert Morrell, a professor in the Faculty of Education at UKZN under Makgoba.
[34] In that article, Morrell argued that Makgoba's article could rightfully be interpreted as "bullying managerial practice".
[34] Later that year, Morrell brought a
defamation case against Makgoba, primarily citing claims made about Morrell in an email sent out to staff.
[35] Morrell dropped the case three years later, following the death of his wife, and citing concern for his "own health and well-being".
[36]