UCT denies SRC acting president axed over anti-gay statement

The University of Cape Town has denied that a member of the Student Representative Council (SRC)‚ Zizipho Pae‚ has been removed from her position following an alleged anti-gay post on her Facebook page.

The university was responding on Monday to an online petition calling for her reinstatement.

The university’s manager of media liaison and communication‚ Patricia Lucas‚ pointed out that Ms Pae had in fact not been removed from her position on the SRC.

“Ms Pae was serving as the Acting SRC President (of the Vacation Committee) and has been removed only from this acting position; she has not been suspended from her elected position on the SRC‚” Lucas said.

Pae sparked an uproar on social media when she posted a message on her personal Facebook page saying: “We are institutionalising and normalising sin! Sin. May God have mercy on us.”

According to a letter sent by Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Francis Petersen to the campus on Monday‚ Pae later confirmed in a letter to the SRC that this message related to the recent ruling by the United States’ Supreme Court legalising same-sex marriages.

Petersen said that at the time of this posting the SRC President‚ Mr Ramabina Mahapa‚ was on leave. Since the posting‚ the SRC had removed Ms Pae from this acting position and the current acting SRC President was now Ms Oyama Botha.

“The SRC has announced that it is busy conducting an investigation into the Facebook post and SRC members are hoping to conclude this as soon as they are all back in office‚” he stated‚ adding that UCT supported the SRC’s need for the space and opportunity to investigate the matter and to deal with the situation.

Lucas urged Pae to register a formal complaint with Campus Protection Services if she believed her rights had been violated.

“The university cannot act if such a complaint has not been registered‚” Lucas said.

She added that UCT supported the right of each individual to exercise freedom of speech and to voice their own opinions in a responsible manner.

“This right‚ as well as the right to freedom of religion and the human rights of the lesbian‚ gay‚ bisexual‚ transgender‚ queer‚ intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community‚ are constitutional rights. It must be acknowledged as well that as a representative of the student body‚ Ms Pae also has responsibilities to her constituency‚” Lucas added.

In his letter to the campus‚ Petersen said that for many years‚ the university had “supported the rights of members of the lesbian‚ gay‚ bisexual‚ transgender‚ queer‚ intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community”.

“We are particularly mindful of students at UCT who come from other African countries whose laws allow LGBTQIA+ people to be harassed‚ discriminated against‚ and even persecuted by being arrested and imprisoned for their sexual orientation.

We are proud of the work of Rainbow UCT in celebrating diversity on campus‚ and in doing so‚ contributing to the transformation process at the university. It has been UCT’s institutional position for many years‚ for example‚ to recognise the rights of gay people to marry and to enjoy the civil and social privileges that married people enjoy.”

RDM News Wire.