Expelled Rhodes student activist Dyantyi ‘vindicated’ by SCA
EXPELLED Rhodes University student, Yolanda Dyantyi, has been “vindicated” after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) granted her leave to appeal against her conviction on charges of kidnapping, assault, insubordination and defamation.
Dyantyi, who had participated in anti-rape culture protests at the university in 2016, was found in contravention of the university's code of conduct, and as a result, following disciplinary proceedings chaired by a proctor, was expelled from the university.
Dyantyi launched an application in the Grahamstown High Court for the review and setting aside of the decisions of the proctor, arguing that the postponement of the disciplinary inquiry to a date when her counsel was not available had resulted in an unfair disciplinary process.
Judge of Appeal Christiaan van der Merwe ordered that the matter be remitted to the university for reconsideration at its discretion on the condition that any continuation of the disciplinary inquiry against Dyantyi should take place before another proctor.
The university, in a statement, said they would not conduct a review of their disciplinary inquiry.
“The university further notes that the court has remitted the matter back to the university for reconsideration, indicating that, should the university wish to start the disciplinary process anew, it must take place before another proctor.
“The matter has dragged on for too long. This has never been our wish. We will consider the guidance provided by the court very carefully and determine a way forward accordingly,” Rhodes University said.
The Socio-Economic Rights Institute executive director, Nomzamo Zondo, said: “The SCA's judgment is a vindication of Yolanda's pursuit of justice and refusal to be silenced. It restores Yolanda's right to tell her side of the story.”
Dyantyi was in her third and final year of study for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the university when she was expelled on November 17, 2017.
“During the period from April 17 to 20, 2016, the university was affected by student protests.
“The protests were precipitated by the emergence, on social media, of a list of male students and former students of the university who had allegedly committed rape or acts of sexual assault at the university.
“The protests were directed at the perceived ‘rape culture' at the university. The protesters believed that the university failed to effectively address the existence of pervasive sexual violence on its campus.
“During the protests, three male students were physically removed from their rooms at university residences, manhandled and deprived of their freedom of movement. Despite calls by the vice-chancellor and other members of the senior management of the university to release him, one of the students was held against his will for about 11 hours.
“The protests continued until the university obtained a comprehensive interim interdict,” court documents read.
After being permanently expelled by the proctor, Dyantyi – who also submitted that the proctor had been biased against her – launched an application in the high court for the review and setting aside of both the decisions of the proctor of November 10 and November 17, 2017 where “the decisions had been materially affected by procedural unfairness and were unreasonable and/or irrational”.