Last chance to decide fate of Rhodes statue
The university received a temporary permit from Heritage Western Cape on March 31 to remove the statue from UCT’s upper campus after student protests.
The statue was subsequently moved on April 9 to an undisclosed location.
UCT is in the process of applying for the statue’s permanent removal, Heritage Western Cape told News24 on Monday, citing a statement from the university.
The university has appointed Ashley Lillie, an independent heritage practitioner, to make the application.
Public input into the fate of the statue was invited on Thursday, April 16.
Anyone wishing to comment or register an interest regarding a proposed location for the statue can send an email to [email protected].
The university has 90 days from the date of application, March 31, to file the application for permanent removal.
Student's suspension
The university, meanwhile, has distanced itself from student Chumani Maxwele’s claims that his suspension from the university is related to his involvement in the Rhodes Must Fall campaign.
Maxwele gained notoriety after throwing human waste onto the Rhodes statue on March 9.
In a statement released on Thursday, the university confirmed it had suspended a student pending a disciplinary hearing following an incident involving a member of staff on May 1, 2015.
UCT spokesperson Pat Lucas told News24 on Friday that its policy was not to release the name of any student involved in internal disciplinary proceedings, but did say: “The suspension follows an unrelated, isolated incident and this occurrence is unrelated to any protest action on campus.”
The student is alleged to have intimidated, harassed, threatened and racially abused a member of staff.
Maxwele, who confirmed to News24 that he is the student in question, has disputed the series of events, claiming his suspension is "political".
He told News24 on Friday that he would be appealing the suspension.
Author: News24
NewsWire ID: 3573
File photo: Gallo images