Letter to The Mercury Newspaper from the Committee for Academic Freedom in Africa
Dear Mr. Canning,
For some time now the Committee for Academic Freedom in Africa (CAFA) has
been growing increasingly concerned about the academic freedom crisis at
the University of KwaZulu-Natal. There are now a long list of incidents
that are grave cause for concern. One of these incidents is the dismissal
of Fazel Khan an academic internationally respected for his work with the
shack dwellers’ movement Abahlali baseMjondolo.
We have looked very carefully at the transcript of the hearing that led to
Mr. Khan’s dismissal. It is very clear that the whole premise of the
charges laid against Mr. Khan were extremely dubious and that the
judgement bares little relation to the evidence that was actually led.
Professor Chetty’s claims that this is not an academic freedom matter are
clearly disingenuous. Academic freedom is acknowledged all over the world
to include the right to make statements critical of university management.
The ongoing international scandals around the state of academic freedom at
UKZN will not abate after the management has purged its detractors from
the institution. They will abate after the management recognises that
academic freedom is a fundamental principle of any university and that it
extends to the right to be critical of powerful forces including
university managers.
Nigel Gibson
For CAFA