Rupert, Cameron want Newton-King gone from Stellies - but she wants to stay

Key topics:Cameron and Rupert call for new Stellenbosch University leadership.Newton-King criticised for serious governance lapses, trust breaches.Kriegler Report exposes failures, urges transparent, accountable council..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Edwin Cameron and Johann Rupert.10 March 2026 The term of office of the Stellenbosch University Council Chair, Ms Nicky Newton-King, will shortly end. She acknowledges that the constituency that nominated her to Council, the donors, no longer want her to represent them. This evidences the breach in trust between her and the stakeholders she has represented. But Ms Newton King now indicates that she seeks to be re-elected to Council through another pathway. We regret this. Ms Newton King’s tenure as Chair was marred by grave lapses of judgement and candour in governance. These damaged trust in the Council and the University. .The Kriegler Report of December 2024 was issued by Justice Johann Kriegler, Professor Themba Mosia and Advocate Karrisha Pillay, Senior Counsel. The commissioners unanimously found that Ms Newton King:Was an active and/or knowing participant in the surreptitious and contrived amendment of the Report of an “independent panel” on the Wilgenhof Residence so as to eliminate an alternative to closing the residence that she and the then Rector thought “troublesome”; “Knew or ought to have known” that her actions and those of the then Rector in the issuing the radically amended Report were wrong; in fact, this must have been “plain” to her;Procured the changes through a "simulated transaction" in a process that "was fatally flawed";Was duty bound to alert Council, yet failed to do so;Was thus guilty of a material non-disclosure of a “significant circumstance” to the Council, one that “demanded” disclosure;Failed to disclose "material information that could have influenced the outcome of Council deliberations";Sought to advance reasons for not fulfilling her duty of disclosure that were “palpably illogical”..These governance failures are extremely serious. Ms Newton King and the then Rector managed to persuade the majority of the then Council, in effect, to ignore or overlook the findings of the Kriegler Report. But they can be ignored no longer. They highlight the need for renewed stewardship. The future wellbeing and stature of the University indicate that Ms Newton-King should not be considered for re-election. This would risk undermining the progress made in repairing the damage done during her term as Council chair. The Stellenbosch University community deserves new and transparent leadership with integrity. Our sincere hope is that it will receive this..*This is a media statement by former Chancellors of Stellenbosch University, Edwin Cameron and Johann Rupert

Rupert, Cameron want Newton-King gone from Stellies - but she wants to stay

Key topics:

Related Stories