Wilgenhof: Agreement reached after litigation

The Association for the Advancement of Wilgenhof Residents (AWIR) and Stellenbosch University (‘SU’) have settled litigation concerning the SU Council’s decision to close the Wilgenhof residence in 2025. As part of the agreement, in the first semester, the 2025 Wilgenhof students, together with new first year students who will be allocated to the residence, will be entitled to all move to a new residence together and to retain the current House Committee during which time SU will conduct as much of the necessary renovations as possible. The students will be entitled to return in the second semester even if some of the upgrades still need to be completed. However, the Wilgenhof Alumni has not been able to come to an agreement with SU on its separate application to the High Court to review and set aside the June 2024 report and recommendations by an investigative panel, as well as the decision by the SU Rectorate to accept the panel’s conclusion that Wilgenhof was “irremediable” and should be closed. In this interview Jaco Rabie of the Wilgenhof Alumni Association takes BizNews viewers through the whole saga.