by Mbongeni Mbingo | Jul 12, 2013 | News
Professor Franz Kruger, an ethics specialist, has looked back to the most talked about Wits University story this year and is surprisingly positive in his opinions.
Kruger , Director of the Wits Radio Academy believes that there were many positives in this case being made public, and reserved glowing praise for the manner in which the Wits Vuvuzela handled it.
Investigations instituted after media reports
Kruger, who is also the ombud for the Mail & Guardian and a member of the SA Press Appeals Panel acknowledges that this issue is a problem in a lot of colleges and universities, “and from what we hear, it has been a problem at Wits for some time.”
“I think the fact that this thing has come out in the open in the way that it has is positive, for it has reminded us that we have a duty of care, that students feel safe, that this kind of stuff is beyond (the university),” he points out.
He credits the campus media for championing this case, and points out that it was once the campus media and mainstream media had named one or two lecturers that the campus instituted inquiries and ‘did various other things.’
“It is good that it has happened, but it should not have taken this long,” the journalism professor states. “It should have been handled more quickly.”
Kruger believes that once this matter was out in the public domain, it sparked a discussion on campus about this issue; ‘and I think that has been a good thing.’
Ethical test for naming people
Kruger, who is the author of the book ‘Black, White and Grey: Journalism Ethics in South Africa, says the Wits Vuvuzela made the right decision in deciding to name the professor accused of sexual harassment.
“I think one has to think carefully about naming (in any story). The test for me would be firstly, is one very sure of the facts; can one make a strong case about public interest; and I do think that the reporting that happened here met those tests,” he states.
However, there was a concern about claims of lack of clarity on one of the people writing the stories being alleged to be writing about herself. This, Kruger says, could have been handled better.
“It would have been better there to have been separation about the reporters and the people who were complainants,” he states.
However, it was not necessarily a fatal flaw. “It is of course particularly difficult where you are talking about media within an institution and within a journalism department where in fact you don’t have teams and teams of reporters and the numbers are limited.”
[pullquote align=”right”]“If you were behaving in a way that is in fact proper then there is a problem”[/pullquote]
“As unfortunate as it has been for the people involved, I think Wits Vuvuzela did a real public service by bringing it out,” he said.
However, in the wake of this sexual harassment case, do lecturers now have to be particularly conscious of their teachings methods? How do they relate to the students now?
For Kruger, the simple answer to this is that it should not affect the way lecturers behave themselves around the students.
On a personal level, Kruger reveals that he always feels that he behaves in a way that would keep him safe from any allegations of that kind, “so I have not felt the need to behave any differently,” he reveals.
His advice to the other lecturers is that If they feel the need to deviate from the way they teach, then it means there is a problem with the way they were teaching beforehand.
“If you were behaving in a way that is in fact proper then there is a problem. I have certainly not felt the need to deviate any way.”
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by Nokuthula Manyathi | May 31, 2013 | Featured 1, News
by Nokuthula Manyathi and Shandukani Mulaudzi
Tsepo wa Mamatu
Photo: Provided
Tsepo wa Mamatu, senior drama lecturer suspended recently after sexual harassment allegations against him, has broken his silence and insists that he is “not interested in coming back to Wits”.
In an exclusive interview with Wits Vuvuzela, he said: “Coming back to Wits would seem like the easy way out.”
In March this year, The Sunday Times reported that, over a period of six years, more than 10 of wa Mamatu’s students claimed he had sexually harassed them.
He was accused of violating students during rehearsals, auditions and off campus and even raping one of his students. Following these allegations, the university placed him on “special leave”.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the allegations surfaced, wa Mamatu said the last three months had been painful and that coming back to the university was no longer an option.
“I felt quite wounded and I almost became depressed but you can’t victimise yourself,” said wa Mamatu. For a good four weeks I was in a bad, bad, bad space,” he said. Wa Mamatu said the support he received from family, friends, colleagues and students helped him survive
Flood of support
“What made me strong was the thousands and thousands of messages I received in my Facebook account, sms’es and the calls I received from very, very influential people,” he said. Wa Mamatu said one of his friends had compared this struggle with the strife experienced by Jesus. “They said, ‘Tshepo: Jesus was 33 years old when he went through the same thing – when he was humiliated publicly, when he was betrayed’.
“But they cannot crucify you without building you up.”
No chance from The Sunday Times
Wa Mamatu expressed his dissatisfaction with the manner in which the Sunday Times had handled the story. According to wa Mamatu the reporter of story, Pearlie Joubert, contacted wa Mamatu on the day on which she was to submit his story which did not allow him time to respond fully to the allegations.
.“[pullquote]”Students would come needing a place to sleep. They would sleep in that office”[/pullquote] He explained that the telephonic interview had lasted less than two minutes and that he had tried to ask for an opportunity to meet with the reporter to give the context and his side of what happened.
“She said ‘no no, my deadline is 5 o’clock and I have to submit the story.’ Imagine?” said wa Mamatu.
Raising his voice, Wa Mamatu said that two weeks later the same reporter had “the nerve” to contact him to find out how he was doing after the publication of the story. “She called me she said: ‘So how are you feeling after that story was published?’ [laughs] And I gave her such a tongue lash. I don’t think anyone has ever spoken to that woman and she has never called me.”
Wa Mamatu also expressed concern in the fact that one of his accusers had initially told The Sunday Times that he had raped her but had since changed her charge against him to one of oral sex.
“Now she says it was oral sex. Now how do you go from rape to oral sex? Those are two distinctly different things,” wa Mamatu complained.
Admission: this was not the first time
Wa Mamatu confirmed that there was a case of sexual misconduct brought against him in 2007. The matter was taken to the Counselling and Careers Development Unit (CCDU) as the woman in question had accused him of “touching her pants in a very sexual way”.
[pullquote] Worked tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of students [/pullquote] At that meeting both parties were given the opportunity to give their side of the story and the matter was settled. “It was a breakdown of communication and not some malicious intent to do her any harm or to cause her any discomfort whatsoever.
Wa Mamatu said although he had been given opportunities by other media publications to speak up, he had declined them, as he did not want to be seen as “this guy who is using his voice to overpower these women”.
An upbeat wa Mamatu said he held no grudges. He said he did not judge the way the university had handled the situation. “The university had to act, [especially] in a country where woman abuse is so rife … The university is in the middle and I’m not criticising the university, what they did was quite bold and daring.”
Since his suspension, wa Mamatu said he had an initial hearing with the university earlier this month but proceedings had been postponed to June pending further investigations. He said the Wits School of Arts (WSOA) had handled the situation as best as they could, considering the circumstances. He said that despite the allegations and his suspension from Wits he was still able to practice his craft.
Career still thriving
“At the moment I’m rehearsing a play at the state theatre, I have an opera at the Cape Town opera that’s opening in June. I’ve got a musical that’s coming up and I’ve just shot a documentary in the last three months with BBC and Aljazeera”.
Wa Mamatu said although his anger and resentment had subsided he was still very hurt by the allegations as they were untrue. He said he had worked tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of students, which was his main priority both inside and outside the learning environment.
Spirit of Ubuntu?
Wa Mamatu explained that he is from a background where he was taught to share and as a result his office was a “student office”.
[pullquote align=”right”]I had given up my life for that place but in the end they dealt with me.[/pullquote]“Students would come needing a place to sleep. They would sleep in that office.Students would come and tell me that it’s January and ekhaya ngishoda nge [I am short of] R4000 to register or what what-what and I would hustle and make a plan for those students.” Wa Mamatu said his biggest fault was being too trusting and too generous.
“I had given up my life for that place but in the end they dealt with me.”
ADDITIONAL LINKS:
by Nomatter Ndebele | May 1, 2013 | News
Given the ongoing issue of sexual harassment at Wits, Wits Vuvuzela spoke to male students about the way in which the issue has been covered given that all allegations have stemmed from female students against male lecturers.
by Prelene Singh | May 1, 2013 | News
Professor Tommaso Milani giving a Safe Zones talk. Photo: Prelene Singh.
A TALK about the “Safe Zones” campaign launched by the transformation office was given today by Prof Tommaso Milani in Umthombo 11.
Milani who is an associate professor of linguistics in the School of Language, Literature and Media (SLLM), spoke about the safe zones project, which is a Wits transformation initiative funded by the Carnegie Corporation in New York.
Milani said the safe zones project is an anti-homophobic practice which addresses issues around gender, sexuality and the making of a public space for the Wits community to be comfortable to speak out about their sexual preference.
The initiatives trains ‘allies’ [allies are academics, staff and students of the university] on issues around lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people (LGBTI) and the problems they face. Safe Zones seeks to increase understanding and awareness of LGBTI on campus and alleviate rising rates of homophobia (from the Wits safe zones Proposal 2011).
“You should never be ashamed of your sexuality – never”, said Milani. He went on to explain that sexual behaviour and sexual harassment need to be addressed more often in the university and in the country. “Sexual harassment happens because of silence” he said.
The “queer” in the title of the talk refers to “an act of defiance”, and “queer” supports the LGBTI theory, said Milani.
We need to think academically about the meaning of queer and critically understand how [sexual] identity categories are used and for what purpose said Milani.
Milani said, “I am a gay man and a queer scholar” and “academics do research about who we are and what we are passionate about,” Milani said this was why he was passionate about the project. “Sexuality will never be an act of surrender,” he added.
Milani also stressed the difference between homosexuality and being gay. “Gay is an identity and homosexuality is a practice”, said Milani.
Safe Zones is a Wits initiative and Wits University is the only university in the country which does not only host a gay pride festival but also sponsors it.
by Prelene Singh | Apr 26, 2013 | Featured 1
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.
by Pheladi Sethusa | Apr 24, 2013 | Featured 1
The Silent Protest at Wits happened last Friday, April 19.
by Caro Malherbe | Apr 19, 2013 | News
An independent inquiry into sexual harassment reporting is now in full swing.
It started last week with two top powered legal teams from the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) and Norton Rose Legal Practices.
They are now making a call to all students to come forward with their stories or views on how to improve the system.
This is a separate inquiry from the internal investigation by Wits into staff members. The legal teams are making a further call to students who have been harassed, or any member of the university community with a view on the matter, to come forward.
A lawyer from Norton Rose, Joe Mothibi, said that the inquiry was aimed at finding out “what systematic problems there are in the university with regards to sexual harassment. What mechanisms are in place, are they adequate and how they can be improved”.
CALS Attorney, Jameelah Omar told Wits Vuvuzela that she was finding it “a big problem with a trend that students don’t actually feel comfortable speaking to anyone in the university about sexual harassment.”
Mothibi said: “We are doing this to let people know that we are receptive to their complaints”. The legal team would be supportive and students would not be made to feel that they did something wrong.
“The biggest difficulty that we have had is with students coming forward. I think there might be some confusion because there are two paralleled commissions running. Ours is not to look at specific incidences, but to look at trends so that preventative measures can be put in place so that sexual harassment doesn’t happen of any sort.”
According to Omar, the university was handling specific incidences of sexual harassment privately.
Mothibi added: “Cognisant of the rights of the alleged perpetrator and the victims, the university is dealing with it fairly for both sides and with maturity and sensitivity.”
By students coming forward with their views it would help determine how widespread the problem is and what needs to be done.
Omar explicitly added that by speaking up, “it is not contingent on them [students] actually making a formal report. So, say a student was actually sexual harassed they can come to us and tell us their story without it necessarily going any further. They are not forced to make any formal complaint.
“It is entirely confidential, we don’t need formal complaints, we don’t need evidence, and we don’t need anything to be proven.”
Mothibi said: “The idea is that the students contact us directly and come and see us under the strictest confidential terms with absolute assurance that it won’t get back to any other people in the university. “
Anyone who wishes to speak with the legal team can contact them via email: Joe Mothibi on joe.mothibi@nortonrose.com or Jameelah Omar on jameelah.omar@wits.ac.za
by Caro Malherbe | Apr 19, 2013 | News
Prof Rupert Taylor of the Political Studies department. Pic: Facebook.
Professor of Political Studies, Rupert Taylor, was escorted off campus by security on Tuesday after he was placed on special leave following allegations of sexual harassment.
Director of Campus Control, Robert Kemp, said Campus Security was called by Elaine Milton, head of employee relations, and given the instruction to remove Taylor from campus.
Taylor contacted Wits Vuvuzela via email on Wednesday to give a statement: “I am deeply upset and concerned about the damaging allegations that have been published against me in Vuvuzela and elsewhere, on and beyond Wits campus.
“I regard these allegations of sexual harassment against me as devoid of any truth and defamatory.
“The false allegations have resulted in very serious damage to my dignity and reputation. I am taking legal advice on my possible recourse in this regard.”
Shireen Hassim, professor of politics, was present when Taylor was escorted out of his office, to his car by security. She said that Taylor had initially declined to be removed but, when security was called, he complied. “It was not conflictual. He was very dignified,” Hassim said.
Prof Daryl Glaser, head of the politics department, said: “I can confirm that Prof Taylor is on leave, and that arrangements have been made to ensure continuity in teaching and supervision.”
Questions were raised about Taylor following a Wits Vuvuzela report published last year. Many suspected the article was about Taylor, as he was not named at the time. The allegations against Taylor arose again after a senior drama lecturer, Tsepo Wa Mamatu, was accused of sexual harassment and rape in the Sunday Times earlier this year.
Wits Vuvuzela reported in March that Dikeledi Selowa, former politics first year class representative, said there had been talk among the students about Taylor. “We knew of his history and some students were warned about him.”
Glaser confirmed that “investigations into sexual harassment claims are still ongoing”
by Mfuneko Toyana | Apr 5, 2013 | News
UNDERCOOKED: Campus Control officers have yet to receive training on sexual harassment. Photo by: Mfuneko Toyana
Campus Control officers responsible for security have not received training on how to deal with incidents of a sexual nature for close to three years despite repeated attempts by the Career and Counselling Development Unit (CCDU) to organise this training.
In an interview with Wits Vuvuzela, Maria Wanyane, sexual harassment advisor at the CCDU, said Campus Control officers had not received training from the unit on dealing with sexual issues for close to three years.
She said that Campus Control had been consistently unable to schedule time to attend training that was offered by CCDU.
Wits head of security Rob Kemp, in an email reply to questions about the kind of training received by officers, said that all Campus Control security are trained to a minimum “D” level and will receive training on how to investigate incidents and process evidence later this year .However, the training will only take place if they can secure funding for the programme.
Kemp said that Campus Control was in the third phase of a three-year programme which, “will not deal with sexual abuse per se, but with how to investigate and report all kinds of irregularities and abuse.”
Two Campus Control guards, who have worked at the university for several years, said they have not received training on how to deal with sexual abuse issues and were not familiar with the sexual harassment policy and procedure they are meant to enforce.
The officers asked not to be named for fear of being reprimanded, because they had been warned by management to speak about security matters at the university”.
One officer was particularly concerned about not knowing how to deal with incidents where sexual activity seemed to be consensual but was against the university’s public indecency rules.
Asked about the “level D” minimum requirements for all Campus Control security, the officers were unaware of this requirement, confusing it with first aid training, which they said they had not received either.
In a later email, when questioned about the statistical incidence of crimes on campus and in particular the frequency of sexual incidents, Kemp was only able to say that records are kept and crime statistics prepared monthly, every six months and annually. These were then submitted to the university management.
mfuneko@witsvuvuzela.com
by Pheladi Sethusa | Mar 22, 2013 | Featured 1, News
SEXUAL HARASMENT COMMITTEE: Prof Pumla Gqola, Prof Tomasso Milani, Dr Mehita Iqani and Dr Colette Gordon. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
Only a handful of students attended the open meeting held by the School of Literature, Languages and Media (SLLM) this past Monday.
The school has formed a sexual harassment committee consisting of school staff members Dr Mehita Iqani, Prof Pumla Gqola, Dr Colette Gordon and Prof Tommaso Milani.
At the meeting the committee members handed out their personal contact details so that students could feel free to speak to them discretely about sexual harassment. In addition the committee handed out pamphlets which included the information of relevent university structures dealing with sexual harassment issues.
Dr Iqani got the meeting going by saying that the committee were available to answer questions and give advice to students on sexual harassment issues. “We want to hear students’ views and opinions,” she added.The idea behind the meeting was to get students from the school to come together in a safe environment, so that they would feel free to talk about sexual harassment.
There were concerns about the impact of student views and opinions around the issue of sexual harassment. Prof Gqola reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to engage with students. “We want you to have a say – a direct one,” answered Gqola. The committee guaranteed that testimonies would be confidential and that no student would be punished for ever coming forward with information.
Some of the suggestions made by the students include:
- That both parties in any sexual harassment allegation need to be represented equally. The committee indicated that this can never be guaranteed because a reply from an alleged harasser for example is a matter of choice.
- Another student suggested that the school should look into creating a student council so that victims could talk to people they feel very comfortable with. The response to this suggestion stated that such a committee was already under construction.
- A running commentary from the floor was that the school had indeed taken a very positive step towards the sexual harassment issue by forming this committee.
A code of conduct is being drawn up by the school as a way of ensuring that everyone in the school knows what their rights and responsibilities are.
To close off the meeting the committee reiterated that they are in no position to action against perpetrators. Dr Gordon said: “It’s not about removing people, it’s about removing behaviours.”
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by Staff Reporter | Mar 20, 2013 | News
UPDATE: 20 MARCH 2013
After securing agreement from all relevant sides, Wits Vuvuzela is finally able to publish a series of letters that Dr Last Moyo wrote to Prof Anton Harber in his capacity as the Head of the Department of Journalism which produces the Wits Vuvuzela. In these letters, Moyo details his concerns about the way in which the story of sexual harassment allegations against him were handled.
The official Wits Vuvuzela response:
We do not accept that Wits Vuvuzela behaved unethically or unprofessionally, and we stand by our story. Dr Moyo is concerned that the reporter herself made accusations against him. But stories often originate from the personal experience of reporters and handling potential conflicts of interest can be complex. In this case, we believe that this position needed to be spelt out for the reader, which was why the reporter wrote her own first-person story.
We took the view that it would have been inappropriate to hide the reporter’s position.
We accept that it could have been handled differently, and that it should have been made clear to Dr Moyo that one of his interviewers was in this dual position. However, there is no evidence that this affects the veracity of the story, as she was just one of a number of accusers. Just the opposite: her experience adds weight to the accusations.
The Wits Media Code allows for independent arbitration. If Dr Moyo is not satisfied with our response, he can lay a complaint with the Dean of Students who will then
convene the Media Board to adjudicate on the issue.
LETTER FROM DR LAST MOYO (11 March 2013): Apology and retraction from Vuvuzela
Dear Prof. Harber and the editorial team,
Following my e-mail communication with Professor Harber over the unethical and unprofessional way the news report about the alleged sexual harassment story about me was handled, I have now consulted widely to get other expert opinions about the issue. Indeed, it does seem that the editor of Vuvuzela completely failed to observe the most basic journalism standards and as a result the credibility of the story you published is severely compromised.
That loss of credibility not only affects my interests as the accused, but also those of the complainants. For my part, I would like Vuvuzela to acknowledge publicly the unethical way with which the story was reported and also put an apology to me clearly stating that for those reasons the story’s credibility is in question. I would also request that I be given some space to respond and state my case to the university public against Vuvuzela’s type of reporting. Prof let me kindly tress three important points to you and the editor:
1. As a Media Scholar, I do value and respect Vuvuzela’s editorial independence and autonomy. I however, strongly believe that that independence and autonomy comes with responsibility to discharge journalistic duties professionally. As a student training paper, I believe that if Vuvuzela failed to take reasonable steps to minimise the risk of dishonest, malicious or even biased reporting, this must be openly acknowledged and apologised for as part of student training. Simply put, I have nothing against you Prof Harber as a colleague or advisor to the editorial team. As a colleague, I have and continue to enjoy the most cordial and supportive relationship with you. I am simply demanding that things be done according to rules.
2. I have faith in the Wits’ internal institutional processes in resolving this issue and believe that a fair and honest internal ombudsman would be competent enough to show that Vuvuzela crossed the line, should we get to a point where you think we need to quote third opinion about the ethical question in relation to Vuvuzela’s coverage of my issue. Should you be of that opinion, we could ask those with such competence to speedily set up an internal ombudsman to adjudicate on the issue and propose the way forward. I would be glad if you agree with me on that because it would defer my recourse to external adjudication which may not always work in favour of institutional reputation and professional standing of Wits. We’ve just had enough negative coverage of Wits by the mainstream press in relation to sexual harassment issues and think that time has come for us to reflect on how we solve internal problems.
3. My request for an apology should not be seen as absolving me of the claims made by my alleged accusers. As you know, the university is running a community wide campaign for alleged victims of sexual harassment to come forward and make the reports. My accusers in and out of the story (if there are any) should exercise that right so that a speedy investigation can be made to allow the law to take its course.
Prof. Harber and team, I would be very happy to hear from you about how you think we can resolve this issue. I do not agree that under the circumstances, Vuvuzela took reasonable steps to report my issue professionally. The story fails to meet the most basic test on ethics and by asking the accuser to interview the accused (without disclosure), author the story, take her her personal picture to provide visuals for the story, Vuvuzela totally compromised the biggest fundamental of news reporting. I find this totally dishonest, disingenuous, and reflective of the unscrupulous and self-serving journalism that cannot be allowed to be associated with Vuvuzela as our student training newspaper. I therefore believe that such a story does not merit to lead and direct university and public opinion about my sexual harassment allegations and that under the circumstances must be retracted in public interest and respect for professionalism.
I have copied the Acting Dean and my HoS to this communication so that they can see how I am proposing that we solve this issue internally without any further drama that may be injurious to the image of the university and our collective interests as the university community. I hope that we move on his with speed so that if agreed I can get my apology and space to write my complaints about how my story was covered in the next issue of Vuvuzela. Thank you.
LETTER FROM DR LAST MOYO (9 March 2013): Ethical concern over the sexual harrassment story
Dear Prof Harber,
Thank you for the response Anton. It is not the weight of the story in journalistic terms that I am contesting. Any newspaper would certainly have liked to report such a story. However, I am querying the process of reporting that story. Let me make it clear to you that the student came to my office in her capacity as a journalist from Vuvuzela and NOT an alleged victim of my alleged sexual harassment.
There is a world of difference here. If she had disclosed to me that she was interviewing me as a victim or survivor of my alleged sexual harassment I would not have granted her the interview for the mere reason that it leaves me very vulnerable. An accuser to me is certainly an interested party in the whole story and would have been foolish to grant that interview. So the student journalist did not disclose her full identity to me and nowhere in the story is her double identity fully acknowledged. But suppose it had been, there would still be a major problem based on journalism ethics:
1. How can an accuser be truthful, honest, objective and accurate in reporting the accused? She already stands in a position of symbolic power to frame and report the story in her favor; and to select and exclude material that privileges her allegations.
2. There is also a major risk here. What if the accuser is friends with people that are also making these allegations against me? What would prevent them colluding to fabricate stories against me for one reason or the other?
3. Prof I honestly think that there was an oversight over this issue. Under the circumstances, I think it would have been better to either pass the story to a different newspaper or ask a different reporter in Vuvuzela to report the story.
I am not convinced that the gravity of the matter or numbers of students involved justified overlooking such an important issue. I feel that Vuvuzela was not honest and fair in dealing with this issue. I had a right to be informed that I was being interviewed by an accuser and Vuvuzela did not do so. Vuvuzela had the responsibility to take reasonable steps in minimizing the risk of biased and partial reporting by an interested party.With due respect Prof, I do not think that was done.
LETTER FROM DR LAST MOYO (08 March 2013): Ethical concern over sexual harrassment story
Dear Prof. Harber,
I hope I find you well. I have a complaint of an ethical nature to make about the way the story on sexual allegations against me was covered. I have observed that the complainant is also simultaneously the author of the story and I strongly disagree that this is ethical. Under the circumstances how to do you account for the truthfulness, accuracy, fairness, and objectivity of the story? She has even photographed herself to provide a picture for the story. I strongly object and do not think that it represents professional and responsible journalism.
[hr]
ORIGINAL: 15 MARCH 2013
Media Studies senior lecturer Dr Last Moyo has objected to elements of Vuvuzela’s story last week in which a number of students made allegations of sexual harassment against him.
“The editor of Vuvuzela completely failed to observe the most basic journalism standards and as a result the credibility of the story you published is severely compromised,” Moyo said in a letter to the head of Wits Journalism.
Moyo’s objection was to the fact that the story was written by a student who, herself, had a complaint against him. He said that this student had not made this clear when she put the story to him.
“I believe that Vuvuzela failed to take reasonable steps to minimize the risk of dishonest, malicious or even biased reporting,” Moyo said.On this basis, Moyo has requested an apology and a retraction of the article.
“My request for an apology should not absolve me of the claims made by my alleged accusers,” he said. Moyo has denied the accusations and called for an official inquiry into his conduct.
*Vuvuzela responds: “Stories often originate from the personal experience of reporters and handling potential conflicts of interest can be complex. In this case, we believe that this position needed to be spelt out for the reader, which was why the reporter wrote her own first-person story. We took the view that it would have been inappropriate to hide the reporter’s position.
“We accept that it could have been handled differently, and that it should have been made clear to Dr Moyo that one of his interviewers was in this dual position. However, there is no evidence that this affects the veracity of the story, as she was just one of a number of accusers. Vuvuzela stands by its report.”
by Pheladi Sethusa | Mar 15, 2013 | News
DR LAST Moyo has stepped down as head of the Media Studies department pending an official investigation following allegations of sexual harassment published in the Wits Vuvuzela.
The paper reported that several former students are accusing Moyo of improper conduct and said ordinary encounters with him took on “sexual” overtones.
School of Literature, Language and Media head Libby Meintjes said the first she heard of these allegations was in the newspaper.
Meintjes said that she encourages those with allegations to make formal complaints for the official investigation.
As Wits Vuvuzela went to press, two of the alleged victims contacted the paper and said they had laid formal complaints against Moyo.
Separate from the official investigation, Meintjes said a sexual harassment committee is being put in place by the School to assist their students with sexual harassment issues.
The committee is made up of staff who volunteered and others chosen by Meintjes. It is different than the campus-wide inquiry currently taking place.
Wits Vuvuzela contacted some of Moyo’s alleged victims for comment on the recent developments.
They said they were pleased with the direction things were headed. They think the measures that are being taken will help them if they decide to formalise their complaints but weren’t sure if they would in take the matter further.
“I’m not sure I want to go any further than I have, I just want to move on. I do hope the investigation is taken seriously and deals with the matter,” said one of the accusers who asked for anonymity.
While an official investigation has been launched, Meintjies took issue with the way Wits Vuvuzela reported the story.
She said journalist Dineo Bendile should not have reported the story as she too had complained of Moyo’s behaviour.
Meintjes believes Bendile might be viewed as biased.
In addition to leaving his position as head of department, Moyo has also stepped down as assistant dean of Internationalisation and Partnerships.
The sexual harassment committee’s first order of business will be to hold a public meeting on March 18 at 1.15pm at SH6.
Its purpose is to inform students on what constitutes sexual harassment, how to deal with it and where they should go to report any incidences. Meintjes said that they hoped to facilitate discussion through their meeting.
