Racist tweets hearing ruled ‘fatally flawed’

RHODES University lecturer Rob Benyon, who was charged with hate speech in a disciplinary hearing for two allegedly racist tweets, seem likely to leave the institution with his clean record intact.

The internal disciplinary case against Benyon was dismissed after the person presiding over the case agreed the hearing was fatally flawed.

Benyon last week lost a high court application in which he had asked the court to stay the university disciplinary hearing, claiming it had been invalidly convened and was against his contract of employment.

He sought leave to appeal the judgment but Rhodes, in the meantime, went ahead with his disciplinary hearing this week.

His attorney Brin Brody yesterday confirmed that Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration senior commissioner Thandoxolo Qotoyi, who presided at the disciplinary, had agreed with the argument that the procedure followed had been fatally flawed.

He had dismissed the case against Benyon, said Brody.

Benyon, who was also a residence hall warden, caused a furore on the campus when he sent out the tweets in midOctober at the height of fee protests.

He tweeted: “#Fees must fall your parents believed the ANC would deliver free stuff. Now you believe the EFF the same. Stupidity is clearly hereditary.”

And later: “Those agitating for free tertiary education #Feesmustfall are the product of free secondary education. Clearly you get what you pay for.”

Some complaints were laid against him and the university launched disciplinary proceedings against him. According to court papers the university believed the tweets amounted to hate speech.

Benyon, who intends emigrating to the UK next month, resigned some months before the tweets were sent out and was serving out his notice. His last day as a Rhodes employee is November 30.

Brody yesterday said they would go ahead with the application for leave to appeal against the judgment, which had dismissed Benyon’s contention that the prosecution was maliciously brought.

The leave to appeal would be argued in due course, said Brody.

At the time of writing, the university had not yet responded to an e-mailed request for comment.