Arrangements if attending protest action

Dear colleagues and students

We are aware of a number of protests that have been planned for this week to call for the removal from office of President Jacob Zuma and to restore transparency and accountability to government.

In particular, there have been questions raised by UCT staff wishing to join the memorial service for Ahmed Kathrada in St George's Cathedral on Thursday, 6 April 2017, at 14:00 at which former minister of finance Pravin Gordhan will be the keynote speaker. The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Cape Town, has called this gathering "a moment for civil society and Cape Town residents to organise and adopt a programme for mass action". This call appears to be supported by various civil society organisations.

UCT will remain open on Thursday afternoon. Where individuals wish to join this call or other protest action, the necessary arrangements must be made with their line managers. These will be subject to operational needs, for example catering arrangements.

There have also been questions raised around UCT closing on Friday as there was a social media call in this regard earlier in the week. The source and status of this call are unclear. UCT will remain fully operational on Friday. If individuals nevertheless wish to participate, the same process described above will apply.

Communication and Marketing Department