PUBLIC APOLOGY: Dismissed Wits lecturer, Tsepo wa Mamatu, has taken to Facebook to apologise for his actions. Image: Facebook.
Former Wits University senior lecturer Tsepo wa Mamatu has publicly apologised for the first time since his dismissal last year for sexual harassment.
“I apologise to my community, my society and every woman for failing them,” wa Mamatu said in the message posted on his Facebook account.
“I will not be mute in my shame. I AM SORRY”, said wa Mamatu.
Wa Mamatu wrote that after his dismissal from the university he “went into a journey of exile, into a space where I asked of myself difficult and hard questions”.
Wa Mamatu apologised for his “lack of judgement” and admitted that he had abused his power over students.
“I apologise for abusing my power, vested on me by the university, to fail to be consistent with principles and values of best practice,” he said.
In addition to his former students, wa Mamatu also offered apologies to his friends and family as well as “my community, my society and every woman for failing them.”
Wa Mamatu signed off his Facebook apology with the words: “I am at your feet”.
Wa Mamatu’s apology comes after months of denying that he had sexually harassed students.
In a series of articles reported by Wits Vuvuzela last year, Wa Mamatu maintained that he had not sexually harassed anyone but rather had relationships with them.
Wa Mamatu was due to be a panelist at The African Arts Institute debate on Monday evening but appeared to have cancelled his appearance. The debate follows the removal of his play, By My Grave, from the Cape Town Fringe festival.
UNDER FIRE: Dismissed “sex pest” Tsepo wa Mamatu says his controversial new play is not about sexual harassment. Photo: Provided
A controversial new play by former Wits University lecturer, Tsepo wa Mamatu, was withdrawn from Cape Town Fringe (CTF) festival last week despite claims from the actor/director that the play does not deal with the issue of sexual harassment.
“People do not know what they are talking about. It would be incorrect to say it [the play] was about sexual harassment,” said wa Mamatu.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela, wa Mamatu said the play is an autobiographical account of his journey that is based on his memoir called Even Still – Lessons Tsepo Learned.
He said the issue of sexual harassment does come up in the play because “it was one of the most disappointing chapters of my stay there (at Wits).”
Wa Mamatu, who previously taught in the Wits School of Arts (WSOA), was found guilty of sexual harassment at Wits through an internal disciplinary process last year and subsequently fired.
Following the removal of the play, By My Grave, from the (CTF) programme owing to protests by other participants, The African Arts Institute is hosting a panel discussion on the controversy tomorrow evening in Cape Town which includes wa Mamatu.
The debate itself has left the arts community divided.
Wits Drama for Life released a statement on its Facebook page opposing the public debate saying the organisation “does not support an initiative of this nature that implicitly validates the experience of the perpetrator and that reinforces the traumatic experience associated with sexual violence”.
According to the founder and director of Drama for Life Warren Nebe, allowing wa Mamatu to engage in a debate encourages a “normalisation” of his acts of sexual harrassment.
“He is being given a platform to validate his position in a way that we think he does not deserve”, said Nebe.
“For us this reopens wounds in many ways…trauma cannot speak back to denial”.
Brett Pyper, WSOA head, says he believes debates around the play will “advance the interest of the various parties who have a stake in the conversation”.
“As a school we believe profoundly in the capacity of art to advance dialogue, redress and restorative social relationships”, said Pyper.
Nebe confirms that the play was withdrawn due to the tensions around wa Mamatu’s history of sexual harrasment and was motivated by the withdrawal of The Mothertongue Project from the festival who were also performing a play on sexual violence called Walk: South Africa.
Artistic director of The Mothertongue Project, Sara Matchett, says, “Even without knowing what Tsepo wa Mamatu’s work was about, we did not feel comfortable sharing a platform with someone who was found guilty of sexual harassment”.
Matchett says wa Mamatu is “unremorseful”, which is why she believes “there should not be any space on public platforms to be sharing this sentiment”.
“For us there is no debate”, said Matchett.
Nebe says the controversy over wa Mamatu’s new play “reopens wounds in many ways … trauma cannot speak back to denial”.
Children from South African townships owe their parents a “debt” for investing in their education in city schools, according to researcher Mark Hunter.
Hunter was speaking about his research on different educational systems at Wits University earlier this week. “Education individualises relationships. Debts are formed through education”, said Hunter.
According to his research, South Africa accommodates two educational systems, one for the rich and the other for the poor.
Hunter also said poor, single-salaried households that can decide to invest in only one child’s education, suggesting that in a household “you can have people who eat from the same pot, but have different educational prospects”.
Security officer at WAM (Wits Arts Museum), Norman Hlongwane has three children, but only pays school fees for the two older ones in Limpopo.
“I pay R600,00 every month for my children’s school fees”, said Hlongwane. He says he doesn’t expect his children to repay him: “I’m helping them – that is the process”.
Charlene Manuel, a shop assistant in Braamfontein gives her mother, who helped to pay for Manuel’s education, R2000, 00 a month for groceries but doesn’t expect her daughter to do the same for her.
“I wouldn’t expect her to pay me back – but help around”, said Manuel.
Thabo Sinyongo, one of the attendees at Hunter’s seminar, moved from a township to a model C school and sees a benefit in these schools.
“It adds to the social capital that is born through these connections”, said Sinyongo.
Nigerian academics were delayed their visas into South Africa, allegedly due to fears that they may be bringing the Ebola virus into the country.
Now a seminar about Boko Haram at the South African Institute of Internal Affairs (SAIIA) which was to be held at Wits last week – has been postponed.
“This is partly as a result of difficulties around the recent Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa,” said Sarasa Ananmalay, events manager at SAIIA.
Communications manager at SAIIA, Hopewell Radebe said the Afro-Middle East Centre (AMEC) communicated the message to those who were due to attend the seminar. He confirmed that SAIIA had not received official comment on the matter from the South African Commission in Nigeria.
Executive director of AMEC Na’eem Jeenah said guests were not denied visas into the country because of the Ebola scare, but the media are “suspecting that this is the case”.
“This is partly as a result of difficulties around the recent Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa,”
Jeenah said the Department of Home Affairs had outsourced the processing of visas to a private company suggesting the processing of visas is “longer than normal because of the Ebola issue”.
Seember Aie from the South African embassy in Abuja, Nigeria disagrees that a visa application would be denied due to health fears of the Ebola virus: “We have never denied a visa based on that,” she said.
The health concerns of travellers have been an issue since the outbreak of the virus, but despite this, airlines continue to operate in West Africa, according to spokesperson of South African Airways (SAA) Tlali Tlali.
Tlali told Wits Vuvuzela this week that the airline had taken measures to ensure safety of passengers adding that staff members would be on “lookout for passengers who bear specific and visible symptoms associated with the Ebola virus”.
Director of Campus Housing and Residence Life Rob Sharman has confirmed via email to Wits Vuvuzela that the attack took place at a student residence off campus.
According to Sharman, the student reported the matter to staff at her residence and was immediately provided with support, including immediate transport to Milpark Hospital.
The matter was then referred to the Sexual Harassment Office at 08:00 the following morning. The student is being provided appropriate counselling and support.
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ORIGINAL STORY: PUBLISHED AUGUST 11, 2014 at 18:45 pm
A female Wits student was allegedly “overpowered” and raped in her residence by a male student last week, the Wits Sexual Harassment Office (SHO), has said.
“We note with concern allegations that the male student overpowered the female student despite her clear non-consent to sexual intercourse”, said Sexual Harassment Office director Jackie Dugard.
Dugard could not confirm the details of the case as it is still under investigation and necessary measures are being taken to ensure the students’ confidentiality.
Crime and Prevention and Liaison Manager at Wits Campus Control, Mashudu Lucky Khumela, confirms the female student had approached one of the security officers on campus and asked about the steps a person should take in case they were raped.
“We note with concern allegations that the male student overpowered the female student despite her clear non-consent to sexual intercourse”
“It was only when the female student started crying that they knew that it was her [who was attacked],” said Khumela.
It could not be confirmed whether the female and male student knew each other before the alleged attack. Durgard said her office “haven’t yet spoken to all the parties.”
Dugard would not disclose which residence the attack took place due to concerns over the privacy of the female student.
Sunnyside res house committee member Nonjy Malunga said that there were steps being taken at her residence concerning visitation hours.
Malunga said that signing in time for visitors is usually between 9am to 11pm during the week, and on weekends the curfew is extended to 12pm. “When signing in visitors leave identification and if they don’t have they are not permitted inside”.
The allegations follow another case reported last term involving a student who was raped off campus, by two men not affiliated with the university.
The Sexual Harassment Office is located on the 6th floor of University Corner and can be contacted on (011) 717 9790.
A group of women academics, together with two male counterparts sat down to talk gender enequality at the Wits Chalsty Centre ahead of National Women’s Day today.
Wits politics lecturer Prof Shireen Hassim directed the discussions on Friday, noting her frustrations with Women’s Day.
No to Womens Day?
“I have antipathy for days like Women’s Day – because on 365 days of the year I work with women’s issues”, said Hassim noting the inequalities women face on a day-to-day basis as uncelebratory.
“Our culture never knew how to deal with the woman issue”,
Gender inequality dominated the discussion when CALS (Centre for Applied Legal Studies) associate Charmika Samaradiwakara-Wijesundara said: “I find myself as a raging academic in a country that is so deeply unequal”.
Mashile Phalane, community liaison officer at CALS, and one of only two men in the room, said that there has been no official recognition of the role gender and culture in society.
“Our culture never knew how to deal with the ‘woman’ issue”, said Phalane who suggested that the confusion between these issues has contributed to the promotion of patriarchy.
Hassim responded saying that “the pulpits of our culture have put on a certain kind of interpretation – culture has been used to destabilise movements that will help stop the progression of women”.
Hassim added that there has been little done to promote gender issues at a political level. “Politics refers to the space in which we find the political voice”, suggesting that the structures of power have displaced issues of gender.
REGULATION WAR: Deputy Vice-chancellor Tawana Kupe outlines effects the new immigration regulations will have on the functioning of the university. Photo: Palesa Tshandu
SOUTH Africa’s new immigration laws have left international lecturers in a regulatory crossfire creating a headache for universities across the country.
A researcher at the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) Roni Amit said the new laws have created less flexibility for lecturers who are currently working in the country under the exceptional skills visa.
“They [South African government] have eliminated the exceptional skills visa. Individuals must now apply for a critical skills visa,” said Amit.
The critical skills visa would require individuals to submit the work they have done to support the claims of their qualifications including a published list of their skills, said Amit.
This means that foreign lecturers without doctoral degrees will not qualify for this visa “unless they fall under one of the other published categories of skills”.
Opposing Immigration Laws
This could make the transition from researcher to lecturer more difficult, according to Amit.
“We are opposing the law, but while we are opposing it we actually have to obey it,” said Deputy Vice-chancellor Prof Tawana Kupe.
“We have sent in representations to say that the law will affect the way that we function as universities, those representations will be done through HESA (Higher Education South Africa),” said Kupe.
Kupe said Wits had co-ordinated a meeting together with the Department of Home Affairs with 26 human resource officers from the country’s universities. They met to discuss the new laws and express their frustration with the laws, Kupe said.
The university has taken measures to ensure the government is aware of the implications the new regulations will have on how the university functions.
“We have sent in representations to say that the law will affect the way that we function as universities, those representations will be done through HESA (Higher Education South Africa),” said Kupe.
Dr Ufuoma Akpojioi, a lecturer in the media studies department who is originally from Nigeria said the new regulations are “strange” and make it difficult for his family to visit him here.
According to Amit, aspirant researchers who want to complete a doctoral or post-doctoral degree in South Africa will also be affected by the new regulations.
An International Dilemma
Researchers will have to apply for a visitor’s visa which will have had to be authorised through university-based research, the regulations however will “not allow a holder of a visitor’s visa to apply for a different visa from inside the country”.
Overstaying your welcome in the country could result in being declared as “undesirable” meaning that individuals could be banned from the country for one to five years, said Amit.
“I was in Italy and the United Kingdom recently and all South Africans expressed their concern – there is a lack of faith in home affairs’ efficiency,” said senior lecturer in Italian studies Alida Poeti.
However not all international lecturers will be affected by the regulations as “it depends on what permit they have”, said Kupe.
Head of International Office Gita Patel will be responsible for organising international staff members with the eligible paperwork.
LADIES OF THE NIGHT SAFE: The trio of architects stand with their new invention at International Union of Architects in Durban in hope to save sex workers. Photo: Provided
THE WORLD’s oldest—and one of its most dangerous—profession might become safer thanks to a new invention by a trio of Wits students.
Third-year architectural students Lamy Subira, Yoliswa Dlamini and Andre-Juan le Sueur began working on the project in April this year as part of an assignment to improve the day-to-day activities of street traders.
“We spoke to the sex workers, we were really made aware of the safety issues. It was a natural step really, a really easy way to ensure safety,” said Subira. The students created a wristband that would connect to a structure which Subira described as “street furniture” with a Wi-Fi router.
“We spoke to the sex workers, we were really made aware of the safety issues. It was a natural step really, a really easy way to ensure safety,” said Subira.
Sex workers will be able to clock-in at the start of their shift to an organisation with an existing database for sex workers. “It’s more than a device, we are architectural students after all. It’s an intervention,” said Subira.
The device would protect sex workers registered in the system in a “disguised way” where they would log in once they’re in the radius of the Wi-Fi network where the wristband can work. The wristband has four buttons where they can pick one of four options – on-line, offline, jump and panic.
‘On-line’ shows that the sex workers have clocked in their shift, ‘offline’ means that they have finished working, ‘jump’ means that they are with a client and ‘panic’ is when they are in a potentially dangerous situation.
Registration to the device includes the creation of login details which would alert the organisations once they are in the area of the Wi-Fi router.
“It’s an intervention, social and architectural that consists of a piece of street furniture which meets a security system and social awareness,” Subir said.
The device will improve the safety of sex workers who want to trade without worrying for their safety. The students agreed that “it was absolutely based on their immediate issues.
“Their safety is their primary concern but that stems from ranging issues. They face a lot of stigma that manifests in so many different ways; nurses refusing them healthcare, police brutalising them, the general public pushing them to the outskirts of society.”
“One thing we learnt is that not all sex workers in the trade chose to do such under difficult circumstances, they don’t always choose it under duress,” said Subir.
The students are currently presenting their device at the International Union of Architects in Durban.
CALM BEFORE THE LAUNCH: Advocate Dali Mpofu (left) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema (right) sitting on the Great Hall stage of Wits University during the launch of the EFF book The Coming Revolution on Thursday. Photo: Luke Matthews
A revolutionary missile was launched yesterday when the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) gathered in the Wits Great Hall to celebrate Commissar Floyd Shivambu’s book The Coming Revolution on Thursday night.
EFF leader Julius Malema delivered the keynote address on behalf of the absent author Shivambu who was still in Cape Town. “We wrote a book because we do not want our story to be told by some white person”, said Malema.
Economic Revolutions
Malema said that the book addresses economic freedom looking particularly at nationalization, noting that he has been previously misinterpreted on the issue.
“I’m agitated by the fact that people love writing books about nationalization. You go and you fetch a book by Van Vicker who will speak on behalf of Malema’’, he said.
The ruling party African National Congress (ANC) was not left out of Malema’s address who accused the ruling party of “selling-out” to economic investors and not putting the concerns of people at the forefront.
“The economy looks the way it looked in the colonial times”, said Malema who explained that the EFF’s economic outlook outlined in the book advocates working class concerns.
Intellectual Riot
The party’s Gauteng provincial chair, Dali Mpofu said that the book consisted of three parts, “manifesto, election and an interview with the commander and chief”, referring to an eleven-page interview conducted by Shivambu and Janet Smith with the party leader. Malema jokingly referred to the interview as “the longest interview of my life”.
Mpofu who contributed to writing the foreword of the book said, “very little [few] political parties have achieved what this little baby has achieved in twelve months”.
Wits EFF student leader Vuyani Pambo noted the intellectual capacity of the organisation saying, “In case you had any doubts – intellectual production is part of this revolutionary duty”.
The book launch was part of the EFF’s first year anniversary of their political existence which will officially take place this weekend.
WHY SO PARANOID? SAUJS member Ido Cohen having an argument with a Wits PSC member over the state of Isreal. Photo:Luke Matthews
An e-mail warning Jewish students against alleged violent attacks and anti-Semitic behaviour at Wits University was circulated this week by the South African Union of Jewish students (SAUJS).
“Over the past few days there have been numerous anti-Semitic incidents across the globe arising from the crisis in Israel,” reads the e-mail.
“With the current levels of anti-Semitic rhetoric, we are concerned that actions similar to that seen across the world will take place in South Africa.”
SAUJS, which provides an active voice for the state of Israel on campus, said in the e-mail it was concerned for the safety of its members at Wits and suggested precautionary steps to avoid violent attacks.
SAUJS fears
According to the e-mail, victims of anti-Semitism should get a full description of the perpetrators including “gender, approximate age, race or any other distinguishing features”. The e-mail warned to “not unnecessarily engage in debate or discussion that could become heated”.
It also suggested that students leaving campus at night not walk on their own to their cars.
It also provided an emergency contact list that included the details of SAUJS chairperson Ariela Carno, vice chair Cayla Urdang and treasurer Natan Pollack, in the event of an anti-Semitic incident.
In a telephonic interview with Wits Vuvuzela, Pollack noted the fears of the organisation about anti-Semitism saying: “It is worrying – it is the ripple effect of what has been happening [globally].” Pollack added that SAUJS supports the Israeli government’s actions. “We fully stand behind Israel,” he said.
Wits Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) chairperson Shaeera Kalla said SAUJS’s fears are unfounded.
She said there were no reported cases of violent attacks against the Jewish student community on campus.
“We do not have a culture of violence at Wits,” said Kalla.
An international issue
The concern for the safety of Jewish students on campus comes after the ground invasion of the Gaza strip by the Israeli military last week.
Prof Steven Friedman of the University of Johannesburg criticised the e-mail and said it creates an unnecessary panic among Jewish students as it confuses two different issues: protests against Israel and anti-Semitism.
“What we have seen recently is expressions of anger at the Israeli state.
“This is not anti-Semitism: many Jews have participated in the protests. Nor is it a threat to the personal safety of Jewish students,” said Friedman.
“The e-mail is no accident. Supporters of the Israeli government’s actions always try to whip up the fear of anti-Semitism in an attempt to drive all Jews into the Israeli government camp,” he said.
A student concern
A Wits Jewish student, who did not want to be identified, has had no personal experience of anti-Semitism at Wits but said they understood the fears of students who are outspoken and in support of Israel.
PSC treasurer Alex Freeman said the e-mail is an attempt to portray the Jewish student community as victims whilst undermining the struggle of the people of Palestine.
Vice Chancellor Adam Habib called Wits “a safe place for articulation of all ideas” and said if there were rumours of anti-Semitism they should be reported to the dean of students.
“If anyone at Wits is complicit in threatening the security of another, we will take the firmest action possible,” said Habib.
Lebo Radebe and Sibusiso Chiba are two of the many homeless people prowling the city of Johannesburg.
They are scavengers for food, for drugs, for shelter on the bitterly cold pavements, for anything that can make their lives a little better.
Poverty and hunger have brought these two young men together.
They are among the more than 24 million people who go hungry in South Africa. With unemployment and poverty levels rising, the number of people who are food secure could increase. While other people scavenge for food in the waste dumps and dustbins, Sbusiso and Lebo collect and sell scrap metal.
Although they support each other and look out for one another, they are not always in agreement about their value system as they eke out a life on the street.
This video is a production of the 2014 Wits Journalism short course in television.
In episode six of We Should Be Writing season 7, the team unpacked the evolution of music as a form of expression and protest, through four decades in the South African context. The episode explores the journey of South African music and its consumers from the 80s, 90s, early 2000s and contemporary listeners. From the […]
