A former student activist at Rhodes University (RU) welcomed the recent decision made by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in which she was found not guilty of charges of kidnapping, assault, insubordination and defamation laid against her by the university.
Yolanda Dyantyi was found not guilty of the charges RU had laid against her at an independent disciplinary inquiry launched by that institution after her involvement in the #RUreferenceList protest in 2016.
In a media statement, the SCA stated that they have upheld the appeal by the appellant, Dyantyi, with costs.
Yolanda Dyantyi, a former student activist at Rhodes University, recently took to Twitter to announce that the Supreme Court of Appeal has “set aside the guilty judgement by Rhodes from 2017” and that her “appeal [was] upheld”. PHOTO: Twitter/@YoliShade
The #RUReferenceList
The former student activist described the #RUReferenceList as a protest against rape culture. The protest began after the names of alleged sexual offenders was anonymously published on an RU student Facebook group, which sparked protests calling for action to be taken against the alleged sexual offenders and rape culture as a whole.
Speaking to MatieMedia, Dyantyi claimed that RU’s decision to exclude her after the disciplinary hearing in the final year of her degree, was to build credibility for the university. Dyanti denied that she had done anything criminal in the process.
Dyantyi claimed that, in the case against her, RU relied on the statements made by the male students that were accused by other women for being perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence.
Yolanda Dyantyi, former Rhodes University student activist, participated in the #RUReferenceList protest in 2016 against gender-based violence. Dyantyi was expelled in 2017 following her participation. PHOTO: Supplied
Rhodes University responds
RU released a statement after the ruling. “The university further notes that the court has remitted the matter back to the university for reconsideration, indicating that, should the university wish to start the disciplinary process anew, it must take place before another proctor,” the statement read.
The university, in the media statement, condemned gender-based violence (GBV). The RU Student Representative Council (SRC) also welcomed the judgement and acknowledged the setbacks the court process has had on Dyantyi.
Photo: A bar graph illustrating where instances of rape took place according to the crime statistics released by the South African Police Services from April to March 2019/2020. GRAPHIC: Asive Mabula
SU’s response to GBV
Stellenbosch University (SU) has experienced GBV protests, such as the #Stellieswhatareyoudoing protest in 2019. In a MatieMedia article published in 2019, protest organisers believed that SU was too quiet with regards to national and local GBV protests and that a place for people’s voices to be heard, was needed.
“While much is done to educate, to train and to create awareness, the university maintains its zero-tolerance approach to gender-based violence and will not hesitate to act, based on a thorough investigation and disciplinary process,” said Martin Viljoen, SU spokesperson via email correspondence. Viljoen added that due process is followed when students come forward with their grievances.