It's not about Cecil

Zetu Makamandela–Mguqulwa
Ombud

"Transformation is a pervasive issue at UCT. Given the highlighted need for more transformation, Cecil is not a name in history; but his legacy is experienced by some of my visitors in the present, thus making the university reminiscent of the past. I doubt if statues, art and images at UCT would be a primary bother if the university life was different to what Rhodes conceptualised.

"What now? One can appreciate that the students are simply asking for a date for the removal of the statue. UCT will have to look into substantial issues of transformation.

"Martin Luther King Jr said: 'History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamour of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.'

"The current climate gives UCT an opportunity to re–focus its transformation agenda, to develop and revive its communal spirit, and to be a true African university, where all its members feel that they belong and are proud members of the association."

Read more stories from the April 2015 edition.