Bid to stop probe after alleged racist tweets by lecturer
A RHODES University lecturer accused of posting alleged racist tweets during the #FeesMustFall protests is bringing an urgent high court application to prevent a disciplinary inquiry.
Although Rob Benyon, who lectured in information systems and was also a residence warden, had resigned from the university when he posted the two tweets, Rhodes decided to proceed with the disciplinary hearing following a widespread public outcry.
He has just two weeks of his notice period left before he leaves the university.
The two tweets on October 14 read: “#FeesMustFall your parents believed the ANC would deliver free stuff. Now you believe the EFF the same. Stupidity is clearly hereditary”; and “Those agitating for free tertiary education #FeesMustfall are the product of free secondary education. Clearly you get what you pay for”.
Today’s urgent Grahamstown High Court application also hopes to get the interdict to include preventing the university from issuing notices for him to attend a disciplinary inquiry.
Although Rhodes University spokeswoman Catherine Deiner yesterday confirmed Benyon was a staff member, she said they did not comment on disciplinary matters.
“The university deals with all allegations with the seriousness they deserve; conclusions or judgments cannot be reached without due process being respected.”
Deiner said the university’s “stance on racism, sexism, bigotry, homophobia, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance and discrimination was a matter of public record” and that this was reiterated in a campus-wide circular from vice-chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela, three days after the tweets were made.
Attempts to contact Benyon yesterday for comment via Facebook and messages to the IT department for him to contact the Dispatch were unsuccessful.
The tweets have been widely condemned by students and staff since they were posted in October.
The latest salvo came on Tuesday when former Dean of Humanities and Emeritus Professor Fred Hendricks wrote an open letter to deputy vice-chancellor of academic and student affairs, Dr Chrissie Boughey, calling for zero tolerance when it comes to racism.
The letter was also sent to several other staff, the campus Transformation Team and posted on the University Currently Known As Rhodes (Uckar) Facebook page.
In the letter, Hendricks said he was writing about a matter “related to racism directed at black students but which has ramifications for all members of the university community, in particular black staff members.”
He included one of the tweets that referred to “stupidity being hereditary” saying such sentiments could not be tolerated and that the firmest disciplinary action needed to be taken against racism on campus.
“The tweet is blatantly and unambiguously racist as it reveals a deep-seated prejudice based on assumptions that personality characteristics like ‘stupidity’ are inherited and therefore biologically determined.” dispatch.co.za