Political activist and prominent figure in the Rhodes Must Fall (RMF) movement, Chumani Maxwele, has won a High Court ruling against his suspension by the University of Cape Town (UCT).
This follows the original decision by UCT to suspend Maxwele for allegedly racially abusing and threatening a lecturer on May 1.
Following the Cape Town High Court’s ruling, Maxwele posted a Facebook statement taking a fresh aim at the “politically motivated suspension” imposed by the “racist University of Cape Town”.
Speaking exclusively to The Citizen, Chumani has clarified his comments, again asserting that “the suspension was illegal. It didn’t make any sense; the University cannot suspend me over the words of a racist professor alone.”
“But now the High Court has set this aside and we can see the racist nature of [UCT],” he continued.
The allegations and original suspension of Maxwele were events seen by many as contentious. After having his suspension overturned by UCT’s own appeals committee, the University discarded their body’s order and resuspended Maxwele.
“If your own appeals committee rules against you and you ignore it, then what do you call that? The allegations were never tested. UCT acted without due course, they just tried to silence me,” Maxwele continued.
For Maxwele, the ruling is a landmark in RMF’s efforts to decolonise South African institutions.
“We will continue to question racism within the University. There must not be any racist iconography in this institution. The appointment of black lecturers must be be made a point of importance.
“This is our historical responsibility,” he continued, adding that his efforts will not cease in the foreseeable future.
“It is critically important to act now … our celebration of Steve Biko is not based on Facebook statuses, it is based on action.”
