A former University of Cape Town (UCT) executive, Jeff Murugan, has denied ever lodging a complaint against embattled UCT vice-chancellor Mosa Moshabela. Murugan has asked the university registrar to investigate how he became associated with an alleged complaint against Moshabela and how the matter reached the university council. He has offered to testify under oath and has asked that the full council hear his concerns.
Murugan's claims add another twist to the legal battle between Moshabela and the UCT council. Two other people, Wilna Venter and Zamambo Mkhize, have also denied ever making a complaint against Moshabela. Venter, a former UCT staff member, stated that she learnt only when approached by investigators that she had allegedly been identified as the source of a complaint against Moshabela.
Mkhize, a UCT social scientist, filed an affidavit in the Western Cape High Court saying she had also never complained about the vice-chancellor. Her alleged complaint detailed how Moshabela had asked a campus security officer to use a master key to gain access to her residence to check on her after receiving a call from her mother raising concern about her daughter, who had been unwell.
Moshabela, who was appointed vice-chancellor for a five-year term in 2024, has approached the Western Cape High Court seeking to review and set aside four resolutions adopted by the council on May 30. The resolutions followed an investigation into 34 complaints concerning his conduct. The council decided that disciplinary proceedings should not be instituted against him over those complaints but authorised further steps.
The denials have intensified scrutiny of how complaints and concerns about Moshabela were gathered, attributed and ultimately placed before the university's governance structures. Council chair Norman Arendse said the council's role was neither to protect an office bearer from legitimate scrutiny nor to assume wrongdoing merely because an allegation had been made.
Education expert Prof Mary Metcalfe said the latest developments reinforced concerns about the prolonged governance dispute at UCT and called for an independent process to establish what had happened. She suggested that an independent assessor appointed by the minister of higher education would be the best way to resolve the issue.
Higher education minister Buti Manamela said he has spoken to both Arendse and Moshabela and has asked for a report from the council to establish a clear understanding of the issues. The dispute is damaging to the institution and needs to be resolved urgently.
Key points
- A third person has come forward to deny lodging a complaint against UCT vice-chancellor Mosa Moshabela.
- The denials have intensified scrutiny of how complaints and concerns about Moshabela were gathered and attributed.
- An independent process is needed to establish what happened in the governance dispute at UCT.
