Fellow SRC presidents respond to Dlamini’s axing

The presidents of Student Representative Councils at some of South Africa’s top universities have weighed in the removal of Mcebo Dlamini as president at Wits University.

Student Representative Councils (SRCs) around the country continue to discuss the dismissal of Wits SRC president Mcebo Dlamini earlier this week. While most have reserved their comments for now, others have expressed support for the axed leader.

University of KwaZulu-Natal

While most of the SRC presidents contacted say they are still in discussion over the matter, Dithobe Mosana, SRC president at the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) told Wits Vuvuzela Dlamini’s Facebook account is a “private space”.

He added that Dlamini was voted in by the students of the university and Wits’ vice-chancellor, Professor Adam Habib cannot “dictate who should be leading the SRC”.

Dithobe Mosana, UKZN's SRC president. Photo: Facebook.

Dithobe Mosana, UKZN’s SRC president. Photo: Facebook.

Mosana felt that Wits students should decide whether their president fulfilled his job well enough. “If students are unhappy they must say the SRC president is not fit to lead in a petition,” he said.

“The SRC is supposed to be a platform where students believe their interests can be represented,” Mosana added.

University of Cape Town

The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) SRC president, Ramabina Mahapa, told Wits Vuvuzela a meeting was held on Tuesday, May 5, with 14 UCT SRC members to discuss the removal of Dlamini.

He added that a statement would be issued by the end of this week but none was available at the time of going to press.

Rhodes University

Siyanda Makhubo, SRC president at Rhodes University told Wits Vuvuzela via email that based on the meeting of his SRC held on Wednesday evening they have “decided to reserve [their] comments FOR NOW.”

Rhodes Univeristy's SRC president, Siyanda Makhubo. Photo: Facebook.

Rhodes Univeristy’s SRC president, Siyanda Makhubo. Photo: Facebook.

He said this decision was made in order to assess Dlamini’s behaviour so they “can be in a better position to critically engage with the situation at hand.”

Makhubo said a follow-up meeting will be held with Rhodes’ SRC on Sunday after which they will release a statement.

“We value and respect the jurisdiction of each SRC and will therefore do our own research in trying to find out about the context and issues following the outcome,” Makhubo said.

The SRC presidents of the University of Pretoria, University of Stellenbosch and the University of Johannesburg could not be reached for comment.

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