The Sisulu Foundation for Social Justice has described a media report claiming that former president Jacob Zuma and former cabinet minister Lindiwe Sisulu were using the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) brand to enhance their credibility as a “hit piece”.
The Daily Maverick reported on Monday that the two “anti-constitutionalists” used the institution to gain relevance. The report further claimed that this raised “eyebrows”.
According to the article, Zuma and Sisulu were a shame to the country and at odds with the constitutional values of a democratic South Africa.
This also roped in Mphumzi Mdikazi, the foundation’s CEO who was accused of corruption but has since been cleared by the law enforcement authorities.
The foundation was launched last week at the Robben Island prison at Cape Town, but it later shifted to the university for the foundation’s inaugural memorial lecture.
This was to honour the legacy of Walter and Albertina Sisulu in leadership.
Responding to this, the foundation said the report was written with obvious disdain and obscure lunacy which reflected a disrespect for individuals central to our country's liberation history.
“The casual erasure of Sisulu's long-standing service as a Member of Parliament and executive, underscores a clear agenda to diminish her legacy,” the foundation said.
It believed that it was necessary and right for Zuma and Sisulu to contribute meaningfully to South Africa's intellectual spaces.
The foundation stated that Sisulu’s (Lindiwe) credibility was not earned through borrowed authority or institutional backing.
“Her legacy was built through decades of commitment to the liberation struggle and her defence of democratic freedoms, including the right to speak truth to power even when it involves journalists with ethical lapses.
“(Rebecca) Davis' hit piece, while predictable in its tone and intent, conveniently ignores this context, reducing the Patron to a caricature without acknowledging the weight of her history or the substance of her critiques,” it added.
It also defended Sisulu’s words that the South African judiciary was being stocked with “mentally colonised Africans”. This was in an op-ed published by IOL in 2022.
“Any suggestion that her critique of the Constitution threatens democratic principles betrays a shallow understanding of democracy itself,” the foundation said.
The foundation said the article’s baseless claim that UCT was "co-opted" for credibility, lacks both substance and understanding.
“Suggesting that the Patron's presence required validation from UCT reveals a failure to grasp how intellectual spaces truly function,” it added.
As quoted in the article, UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said: “The Faculty of Health Sciences at UCT was approached to co-host the lecture, established to honour Albertina Sisulu. The legacy of Albertina Sisulu as a primary care nurse who epitomised servant leadership resonates with the faculty.”
He added: “It is usual practice for UCT faculties or departments to host or co-host events by external entities on the basis of, among others, the relevance to the activities and operations of such faculties or departments.”
The foundation said that Sisulu, as a South African, has every right to engage in these arenas, and she will not be deterred by “outdated colonial attitudes rebranded as journalistic critique”.
IOL has tried to obtain comments from the newspaper but with no success. The article will be updated as soon as we get comment.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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