Oh my Lord, wenzeni?
Dr Lord Mauko-Yevugah
INTERNATIONAL relations lecturer Dr Lord Mawuko-Yevugah has been placed on special leave following an investigation.Social Sciences head of school Prof Shahid Vawda said Mawuko-Yevugah had been put on leave about two weeks ago and would “be back as soon as the investigation is over”.
Vawda could not confirm the details or the nature of the investigation. He said he had not recieved formal confirmation of the nature of the allegations or the investigation.
Vawda said the investigation could be in relation to any form of misconduct such as sexual harassment, racial discrimination or gender-related issues.
He told Wits Vuvuzela to approach the Wits legal office for any further information or comments regarding the investigation.
Wits Vuvuzela was unable to reach the Wits legal office for comment. The communications office referred the paper to Wits employee relations.
Director of Employee Relations, Elaine Milton, said she could not rule out that the pending investigation was unrelated to sexual harassment. Milton referred further questions to the legal office.
When contacted Mawuko-Yevugah said he was on “personal leave” due to ill health since his return to the country from his trip to Ghana.
“I don’t know how long I will be away for but I will be back,” said Mawuko-Yevugah.
Administrative officer for the international relations department, Hilda Potgieter, said Mawuko-Yevugah “had taken personal and family leave”.
Potgieter said a contingency plan had been implemented to ensure students did not miss lectures and were not inconvenienced by Mawuko-Yevugah’s sudden absence.
“New lecturers have been assigned,” said Potgieter.
Mawuko-Yevugah is one of at least four lecturers who have been put on special leave by the university in the past two months, pending investigations.
Following Mawuko-Yevugah’s sudden absence, social science students were left confused and approached Wits Vuvuzela to express their concern.
Mawuko-Yevugah who teaches international relations subjects to undergraduates, postgraduates and Wits Plus students, joined Wits University in June 2011. He holds a PhD from Alberta University in Canada, with a specialisation in international and comparative political economy.
Additional Resources
Wits Vuvuzela. April 13, 2013: Wits staff in sexual harassment inquiry.
SRC President: all is not well at Wits
Wits SRC President Sibulele Mgudlwa
SRC president Sibulele Mgudlwa told guests at the annual Charlotte Maxeke lecture that all is not well at Wits. The youth leader was speaking at the lecture which was attended by members of the ANC Women’s League Leadership (ANCWL) at the Great Hall on Friday afternoon.
Mgudlwa spoke about the charges laid against him and fellow students after their “peaceful” protest a few weeks ago.
The protest action took place during Israel apartheid week when Mgudlwa and other Witsies disrupted a performance by an Israeli pianist at the Great Hall.
Mgudlwa called Wits management structures “reactionary” and said the institution is known for clamping down on students who raise important issues.
“This is an institution known for academic and financial exclusions. An institution where students sleep in libraries,” he continued. Mgudlwa’s words were met with cheers and applause and the audience broke into liberation songs after his address.
The SRC president ended his speech by “appealing to the spirits” of former ANC leaders – Charlotte Maxeke, Lilian Ngoyi and Albertina Sisulu.
The lecture was held by the ANCWL, the PYA and Wits SRC.
VIP guests at the lecture included members of the Mannye and Maxeke families.
Mirriam Mannye, a high school student, recited a praise poem on behalf of the families.
The programme co-ordinator, Nkhensani Kubayi, said she was pleased to see a young woman take pride in her heritage after Mannye said her clan names in SePedi.
“It’s good to see girls as young as yourself knowing where they come from and taking pride in it,” Kubayi said.
ANCWL president, Angie Motshekga and ANC national chairperson Baleka Mbete were keynote speakers. Also in attendance were Susan Shabangu (Minister of Energy and Minerals) and Mildred Olifant (Minister of Labour).
Monogamy: A dead concept?
Last week’s episode of Intersexions on television had my girlfriends and me debating the issue of the line between trust and naiveté. Quick summary of the episode: a woman (Thandeka) trusted her husband (Godwin) and her young, beautiful au pair (Gadima) to maintain a professional relationship but they had an affair.
The episode had me so traumatised I decided to look for a male perspective. I asked two friends who have been in what they call committed relationships for over a year. I have to admit, I liked one of my friends less after these conversations.
Both of them admitted to having been unfaithful. One of the guys said he had cheated several times in the beginning of his relationship but that this changed after he started having real feelings for her.
“I decided it would be a complete waste of time to be invested in my relationship with her and be entertaining all these other chicks,” he said.
The other guy said he continued to have sex with other women and felt there wasn’t anything wrong with that “as long as she doesn’t find out”. When I asked him how he’d feel if he found out she’d cheated on him, he admitted he’d be hurt.
He also said women should be careful not to try and “compete” with men because we’re inclined to be more emotional and end up being hurt by our actions. No prizes for guessing which friend lost major brownie points.
I guess my issue with infidelity is the decision to be in a monogamous relationship to begin with. We live in an age where being in an open relationship is not so much of a taboo. Why tie yourself to an agreement that forces you to be with one person if you’re not prepared to commit to what that means?
I’m open to the idea that monogamy is a tired concept and that it has, attached to it, a long history of moral obligations that serve capitalism and religion. I’m always interested to hear from people who have made open relationships work. I admire the courage it takes to be able to face judgement from people who aren’t willing to understand that lifestyle choice.
What has interested me more in the past two weeks is our insistence as a society to promote monogamy when the opposite seems to be the norm.
Public figures like Kenny Kunene (ZAR Sushi King) make it difficult to ignore the grey area that exists in these open relationships. How do you draw the line between an open relationship among consenting adults and the unhealthy turn towards a hyper-masculine, patriarchal society?
Is it my place to make that judgement to begin with? Is Kenny Kunene a better man for being honest about his lifestyle choice or is the closet cheat better for hiding his or her infidelity? I’d be hesitant to rush into that judgement. Maybe we need to go back to the drawing board and decide what the concept of monogamy means in the 21st century.
Maybe we need to reconsider what we mean by commitment and if it’s as synonymous with monogamy as we’ve been taught to assume.
buyisiwe@witsvuvuzela.com
Masutha opts out of SABC’s ‘One Day Leader’
Former Wits SRC president Morris Masutha shocked viewers last week when he left SABC 1’s reality series, One Day Leader, after winning a challenge and qualifying for the next round.
LEADER ON THE RISE: Former SRC president, Morris Masutha
Photo: Provided
Masutha, who was part of the top six, said he had to leave the show because of a job offer he could not turn down.
The youth leader is now a Policy and Strategy Analyst for the City of Tshwane’s division of Economic Intelligence.
“It’s my dream job given that it’s in line with what I studied … I tried my best to juggle the job and the show but the travelling factor made it physically impossible,” Masutha said.
Masutha has also been awarded a PhD scholarship by Georgia State University in the United States and will be leaving South Africa in September this year.
When asked how he felt about the gap in youth activism and the private sector being accused of poaching young talent, Masutha spoke of the importance of young people creating jobs and the promotion of “an entrepreneurial culture”.
Masutha’s youth foundation, Thusanani, worked with Wits this year in helping first year students adapt to university life. The lectures held by Wits and Thusanani were aimed at avoiding financial and academic exclusion.
The foundation will also soon give bursaries to students from high schools in townships and rural areas.
Two more Witsies, Anele Nzimande and Seadimo Tlale, are top contenders in the show. One Day Leader airs on Sundays at 6.30pm on SABC 1. Read about the other Witsie contestants here.
Fire at Wits Junction
A fire broke out last week at Wits Junction when an iron melted and exploded inside a student’s room.
The unidentified student left his iron on a stove plate while both appliances were switched on.
Clifford Chauke, a staff resident at Junction, said he received an emergency call at 12.00am early last week. Two security guards and a warden were already at the scene.
“We broke and entered into the room and the fire extinguisher was applied,” he said.
When they entered the room and the smoke had cleared, they realised the stove and the student’s iron had been left switched on.
Only the stove and the student’s iron were damaged “the iron itself had burned completely and the room was pitch black from all the smoke from the cables,” said Chauke.
The student was moved to a visitor’s room while the burnt walls in his room are being painted and a new stove is being installed.
Chauke blamed the fire on the student as management has sent emails asking students to remember to switch off all appliances.
Wits Junction manager Nazime Randera declined to comment on the fire and referred questions to Campus Housing and Residence Life head Selina Pendihama. Pendihama said she was unable to comment on the fire.
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