This is part 6 of my story as I uncover the truth about what happened at St Stithians College (JHB, South Africa) in June 2020, bring the perpetrators and accessories to account, and try to stop the ongoing damage that is being done to children and teachers. Other parts are archived here.
I have previously addressed the history of St Stithians College from its founding in 1953 to 2020, my daughters’ matric year, and the year of its transition from St Stithians to St Capture. I have also looked at the Girls’ College (GC) leadership and management structures from 2001 to 2017, and for the 3 years that my daughter attended from 2018 to 2020.
The process of capturing St Stithians GC commenced on Sunday 31 May 2020 and ended 24 days later on Tuesday 23 June. In part 5, I explained how an unofficial Capture Committee (CC) of at least 1 student, 17 alumni, 2 governors, 2 managers, 1 teacher, and 2 consultants, used intentional, malicious, and illegal attacks on at least 7 students and 15 teachers to take effective control of the GC and St Stithians College.
Mission accomplished, members of the CC went on to form a second unofficial Implementation Committee (IC) which, from 24 June 2020, has effectively managed St Stithians, monitored progress, and reported back to the governing CC. The formal governing and managing structures now serve to rubber-stamp decisions of the CC and IC and to provide the appearance of continuity, credibility, and legitimacy.
In this part 6, I unpack some of the post-capture events that unfolded between 24 June 2020 (day 1 of capture) and 31 December 2020 (day 191 of capture).
Day 1-24 of capture
See 24 days to capture St Stithians in part 5.
Day 3 of St Capture – 26 June 2020
Pursuant to the demands of the CC during the 24 days that it took to capture St Stithians, the IC made its first announcements according to their agreed deadlines.
On 26 June St Stithians released the “Rectors Communication to Alumni and the broader community” together with “Meeting Notes: St Stithians Girls' College Key Stakeholders Session held on Saturday 20 June 2020”, and 6 annexures entitled “Diversity & Transformation existing structures at the College; Staff Housing Policy; 2020 Intern Teachers; Disciplinary Policy with annexures; Grievance Policy; and, Psychological Services Policy”.
All 8 documents were available on the governance page of St Stithians’ website on 15 October 2020 - see page 2 of the screenprint under the subheading Rector's Communication to Alumni & the broader community - 26 June 2020. This information no longer appears on the current version of the governance page of St Stithians’ website or at the previous link. The meeting notes remain available on St Stithians’ website.
Day 14 of St Capture – 7 July 2020
The announcement by the Rector was followed by the 17 alumni who released the meeting notes across their bespoke Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts.
The group Tweeted “the notes of the meeting held [on Sat 20 June] with St Stithians exec and council as well as the apology issued [on 26 June] by the school regarding racism in their institution can be found here [in the Google Drive folder ‘Racism at SSGC’]”
The letter of apology demanded by the 17 alumni, is signed undated by Mr. Gary Morolo, Chair of St Stithians College Endowment Fund Trust; Mr. Carel Nolte, Chair of St Stithians College Council; Mrs. Ntombi Langa-Royds, Deputy Chair of St Stithians College Council; and, Mrs. Celeste Gilardi, Rector St Stithians College. The letter acknowledges St Stithians’ servant leadership role and apologises for all the discrimination that has taken place and promises to do better.
It appears, however, that this apology does not apply to my daughter or any of the other students and teachers who were discriminated against in 2020.
The letter was not made available on the 15 October 2020 version of the school’s governance webpage; it is not available on the current website but is available in the alumni’s Google Drive folder or to read here.
Day 22 of St Capture – 15 July 2020
The alumni Tweeted an update together with a reminder of their social media details:
“The following can be found on the google docs link in this post: A memorandum and a list of demands sent to the school; Notes from the meeting a few of us old girls had with the St Stithians College Exec and Council; An apology from the school regarding racism in their institution; The school’s response to our demands”
The alumni’s “St Stithians response to our demands” is the same 55-page document as the aforementioned “Rectors Communication to Alumni and the broader community” announced by the Rector.
Day 25 of St Capture – 18 July 2020 (Madiba Day)
Stakeholders in the greater school community of 2020 will remember the many announcements between 31 May 2020 on Twitter and the 18 July open letter from the Rector Celeste Gilardi who wrote as follows:
“Student Disciplinaries. On the 31st of May, the school was made aware of disturbing video footage being widely shared on a number of social media platforms. The videos featured College students whose behaviour brought the name of the school into disrepute. Our immediate response, on the 1st of June, was to send a letter to our community and then to initiate a formal investigation based on our Code of Conduct. The investigations indicated that a disciplinary process was warranted and charges were drawn up. Disciplinary hearings have been held and sanctions have been issued. We must bear in mind, that as these proceedings involve minors, we are legally obliged to maintain the confidentiality of the students involved. The sanctions have been accepted by the students, although one student has asked for leave to appeal.” [my bold emphasis]
That one student was my daughter. Celeste Gilardi went on to state:
“Throughout this process we have relied upon the expert assistance of well-respected lawyer Mrs Shamima Gabie (sic) from Cheadle Thompson & Haysom Inc, and Adv Hamilton Maenetje SC, who also drew up the terms of reference for the disciplinary process.”
She also took the opportunity to talk about changes to St Stithians’ established governance standards:
“As per our Governance requirements we will be reviewing a number of College policies including the codes of conduct for staff, parents and students. The review of our code of conduct for students in actual fact began last year and a second draft will be ready to be shared with all our stakeholders within the next two weeks.”
Allegations against staff were also addressed:
“On 18th June, the Girls’ College instructed attorneys Cheadle Thomson & Haysom Inc. to assist with an investigation into various allegations made against staff as shared by the group of alumni in their memorandum to the College.”
Celeste Gilardi’s full ‘Madiba Day’ letter is available to view here
Day 35 of St Capture – 28 July 2020
The outcome of the sham trial was announced on Tuesday 23 June by Mrs. Ntombi Langa-Royds, Dr. Sally James, and Ms. Leanne Horwitz, whereupon my daughter and I immediately lodged her desire to be heard on appeal by Adv Ngwako Hamilton Maenetje SC.
St Stithians tried to avoid letting the appeal go ahead but after a protracted struggle, I met with the Chair of Council, Carel Nolte, on 28 July at the GC campus. I hoped to convince him to look at the facts of the matter and overrule what was clearly a flawed ruling, and then we could all save a lot of time and money.
That not being an option for St Stithians, I hinted that if the appeal was not held or produced an equally flawed ruling, then I would have no option but to go to Court in 2021. I am grateful to Carel Nolte for confirming that Adv Maenetje would indeed hear the appeal, but I think he misunderstood my hint as a threat to go to the media when he responded with a comment along the lines of - when parents threaten to go to Carte Blanche (M-Net) they’re just wasting their time because we have contacts.
Day 38 of St Capture – 31 July 2020
The alumni sent their last Tweet “Why ‘Blues Lives Matter’ Does Not Exist” and their last Facebook post to the same effect.
Day 45 of St Capture – 7 August 2020
A preliminary meeting with Adv Maenetje who later noted in his Findings on Appeal:
“[14] On 7 August 2020, I held a virtual meeting with the parties to discuss the procedure for the hearing of the appeal. We agreed, amongst other things, on the following:”
“[14.2] The school would not be introducing any further evidence or documents other than the record of appeal already provided to me at that time [7 Aug].”
The parties in attendance for St Stithians were Sally James and Leanne Horwitz - for additional context - St Stithians always insisted that this is not a legal process so no lawyers were ever in attendance:
Adv Maenetje wrote “[25.8] Although it may have been possible to legally authenticate the origins and ownership of the WhatsApp messages, she [Ntombi Langa-Royds, BA (Law), LLB] did not believe that this was the role or indeed the purpose of the hearing. She did not believe that the school needed to go to that level of forensic evidence enquiry, as this was after all not a legal process but an internal process to determine what had occurred and correct where appropriate so as to create a learning and restorative opportunity for all involved.”
Day 70 of St Capture – 1 September 2020
Matric preliminary exams start.
Day 73 of St Capture – 4 September 2020
St Stithians ignored the rules of engagement set down by Adv Maenetje and delivered another round of attacks on my daughter in defense of their actions and two illegal sanctions that were applied on 23 June (see part 5).
Ntombi Langa-Royds had found her guilty and handed out one sanction. Not to be outdone, Sally James had added a second. The sanctions can be viewed here.
St Stithians, Sally James, and Leanne Horwitz fought the hearing on appeal, possibly committing perjury in the process. On 4 September Sally James delivered a 16-page legal statement plus 2 annexures:
A confirmatory affidavit from Leanne Horwitz.
A copy of my daughter’s two-page essay (the 2nd sanction) in which she opens with “Despite the appeal process of my case still going ahead, I have chosen to complete this disciplinary restoration and reflection task in order to further educate myself on issues surrounding the topic of race.”
Adv Maenetje wrote - “[27] In its written submissions the school says that there are only two issues in the appeal. The first is whether there was a sufficiency of evidence to support the charges against [daughter]. The second is whether or not a finding of guilt was made against her. I accept that a finding of guilt was made against [daughter]. This is the basis upon which the recommendation that a written warning [the first sanction] be issued against her was made.”
Also in these new documents from St Stithians and being unable to rely on the fake screenshot, the team try once again to use the “apology” as evidence of my daughters’ guilt. Iterations of the word ‘apology’ appear 13 times in St Stithians’ statement and 13 times in Adv Maenetje’s findings wherein he wrote:
“[38.2] For her part, Ms Langa-Royds [on 12 June] wanted to know why [daughter] had apologised when “I got the feeling you didn’t sen[d] that message.” [Daughter] offered an explanation for her apology which Ms Horwitz and Ms Langa-Royds did not question. On the contrary, the Findings reflect an acceptance of the explanation for the apology. In those circumstances, Ms Langa-Royds could not treat the apology as proof of [daughter’s] involvement in the use of the n-word.”
See also ‘apology’ in part 5, specifically Day 1 of capture – 31 May 2020.
Furthermore, St Stithians’ hit team attempted to use the second sanction imposed by Sally James against my daughter as evidence of her guilt. In respect of the instruction to purchase, read, and report on a racist book, they state:
“[27] This process and her compliance with tasks aimed at taking accountability for her actions ‘which brought both [her] own personal reputation and that of the College into disrepute’ is an explicit concession that she accept her wrongdoing and has in our view, rendered the internal appeal process academic or moot.”
“[47.2] We deny that the process was substantively or procedurally unfair and submit that the findings and recommendations of the chairperson [Ntombi Langa-Royds] must be upheld. We also submit that in light of [daughter’s] involvement in the Disciplinary Restoration and Reflection Task, and her consequent production of a reflective essay and a discussion with Dr James, the appeal has become academic and moot.”
Despite the best and ongoing efforts of St Stithians, Sally James, Leanne Horwitz, and other members of the Capture Committee to manipulate the facts, Adv Maenetje saw the truth on this point too and noted:
“[10] [Daughter] complied. She purchased the book, read it and prepared the two-page essay. She reflected positively on the questions for reflection that were included in Dr James’ letter. Her essay is dated 4 August 2020.”
Day 86 of St Capture – 17 September 2020
Matric preliminary exams end.
Day 104 of St Capture – 5 October 2020
Adv Maenetje delivered his 29-page Findings on Appeal from which:
“[38.6] There are simply too many [un]answered questions on the evidence presented in the disciplinary hearing and the written submissions of the school to result in a finding of guilty as charged…. and whether or not there was any fabrication of (or in) the WhatsApp communication. It was common cause that such fabrications indeed do occur in social media platforms.”
“[39] For [all] the reasons above, I am unable to agree with the Findings that it was established on a balance of probabilities on the evidence presented that [daughter] is guilty as charged. My finding is that the school failed to prove the charges against [daughter]. This of course is not the same as a determination of where the truth lies [my bold emphasis]. The school was required to prove the charges against [daughter] once she pleaded not guilty. This is required by the provisions of the Code of Conduct that I have referred to above, especially paragraphs 51 to 58.”
“[40] The Code of Conduct does not permit a finding of guilty based on a hunch, intuition or unsubstantiated opinion. It would, in the circumstances, be manifestly unfair to find [daughter] guilty of charges that were not proved, in relation to a matter of such significance that might affect her future in a material way.”
“[41] It does not seem, however, that all has been lost. The reading of the book Waking up White may have given [daughter] a lifelong benefit. I would encourage her to use the lessons learnt from the book to be a champion for positive change in her immediate community, South Africa and the world. Race relations remain a significant socio-economic problem throughout the world. As a young person, the world is [daughter’s] oyster.”
“[43] For all the reasons that appear above, I uphold the appeal by [daughter]. This means that the written warning [the first sanction] must be removed and ended.”
Day 106 of St Capture – 7 October 2020
Sally James sent me a letter in which she states:
“I acknowledge and respect Adv Maenetje’s decision to uphold your appeal. As per the report and Adv Maenetje’s instruction, I have removed the written warning from [daughter’s] student file.”
“There have been many learnings over this time and the Girls’ College is committed towards taking these lessons forward in a productive and proactive manner.”
That commitment did not last for long.
Day 111 of St Capture – 12 October 2020
I emailed the Rector requesting that the outcome of the appeal be announced in concert with the many precedents set by St Stithians since 31 May 2020. That there be no doubt of the facts, I attached the Findings on Appeal from Adv Maenetje and the letter from Sally James. However, Celeste Gilardi did not respond, it was instead hastily suggested via Cheadle Thompson & Haysom Inc that I should seek browner pastures.
Day 113 of St Capture – 14 October 2020
IEB matric final exams start.
Day 114 of St Capture – 15 October 2020
The outcome of the investigations into the teachers was announced in an open letter dated 15 October 2020 signed by Celeste Gilardi, Noma Shange, Reshma Lakha-Singh, and Carel Nolte, with no teachers being found guilty:
“Cheadle Thompson & Haysom Inc Attorneys findings were that further investigations of these matters were unnecessary in light of the assessment of each complaint. They did however recommend appropriate training for all staff [my bold emphasis] to assist them to understand the nuances and the need for racial sensitivity and the complexity that diversity brings to the classroom and to the College. In the absence of such training, staff will continue to demonstrate unconscious attitudes, reactions, stereotypes and behaviour that is devoid of any understanding of racial experiences and the profound effect that this brings to an educational experience. Training by a specialist in this fieldwill assist staff to….”
So in effect, as I highlighted within part 2 and again here in part 5, the attorneys did provide an opinion that ALL teachers and staff are somewhat stupid, practicing racists, and require ongoing re-education. The legal report remains unavailable.
The letter supplements the legal opinion by introducing Transformation Task Force Groups, as well as a Transformation Report 2020 which is purported to be a “full report on all the work that has been done to date in all our schools and Campus departments”. The report attached to the letter is an 11-page document that is available on the college website (St Stithians website). I have already raised 14 points of concern about this report and its governance aspects in particular, under Never let a good opportunity go to waste in part 2.
The 15 October letter was available on St Stithians’ governance webpage on 15 Oct 2020 - see screenprint page 2 under the subheading Diversity and Transformation Communication October 2020. No longer available on the same governance page or at a previous link, the letter is made available here.
Day 155 of St Capture – 25 November 2020
IEB matric final exams end.
Day 191 of St Capture – 31 December 2020
Government lockdowns continue.
The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption, and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, continues its work into 2021.
St Capture looks forward to 2021.