Dramatic scenes at WSU meeting
Top EC legal eagle elected new convocation leader
Eastern Cape-born advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, who is now in the running for senior counsel status, was elected president of Walter Sisulu University’s convocation at the weekend.
This was after a drama unfolded that threatened the collapse of the elective annual general meeting.
Before Ngcukaitobi’s election, emotions ran high over who should take the hot seat.
In what was dubbed as the most hotly contested AGM in the history of the institution, a delegate slapped outgoing convocation president Zincedile Tiya in the face.
Attempts to get comments from Tiya about the commotion and the physical assault were unsuccessful on Sunday.
Allegations of attempts to collapse the AGM, sabotage to the electricity connection at the venue, and objections to credentials for the meeting were some of the elements that almost prevented delegates from electing new leaders on Saturday.
University spokesperson Yonela Tukwayo confirmed to the Daily Dispatch that there were a few incidents of sabotage that were experienced during the meeting.
“Indeed at some point we experienced commotion when we were trying to start the election process.
“There are people who tried to sabotage the meeting by switching off power to the venue, but our facilities department were on standby and the matter was resolved, allowing the meeting and elections to proceed,” Tukwayo said.
She could not confirm incidents of physical altercation, saying that if there were any, they had not yet been reported to management.
However, a number of delegates told the Dispatch Tiya had been slapped.
Tukwayo said the new Ngcukaitobi-led leadership would add value and have a meaningful impact on the university’s community.
“A wise and experienced president of convocation like Mr Ngcukaitobi will galvanise the alumni to support WSU, especially in the area of building ‘friends of WSU’ and raising much-needed capital to meet demands like improving student living and learning environments across our campuses,” she said.
Ngcukaitobi’s lineup made a clean sweep during elections, taking all positions, including additional members.
Addressing the packed auditorium subsequent to his election, Ngcukaitobi said the highest priority on his to-do list was restoration of the institution’s academic integrity.
“Where I go, everywhere people ask me ‘where did you do your first degree?’
“If the place that you did your first degree does not have academic integrity, they doubt you and that level of doubt follows us forever. So we have to work together to restore the academic integrity of the university,” he said to loud applause.
Speaking with the Dispatch on Sunday, Ngcukaitobi said first on their list was to make sure all the programmes that the institution had lost accreditation for should be re-accredited.
“Those qualifications need to be re-accredited; that is nonnegotiable. We need to make sure that in the next year we have re-accredited all of them, including the LLB degree and some in medicine.
“I’ve also discovered that in a number of our courses the curriculum is outdated. So we need to do an in-depth study as to where the gaps are, because we are teaching students and not checking if those qualifications are making them employable,” he said.
In 2017 the university was dealt a blow when the council stopped it from offering LLB degrees in the law faculty, effective from January 2019.
Last month the Dispatch reported that two qualifications had been stripped of their accreditation.
Convocation is made up of alumni with certificates, diplomas and degrees from the institution.
According to the university statute, convocation must be represented in all the decisionmaking structures of the university, including council, which is the board of directors, and the senate, which is an academic decision-making body.
Ngcukaitobi’s deputy is Lunga Mantashe and treasurer Melikhaya Mcitwa.
Additional members are Simthandile Ford, Sandile Puti, Landi Tulile Sikhinzi and Melikhaya Sihawu.