By Emma Giles
More than four months after the election of the Student Representative Council (SRC), Ben Anderson was officially reinstated as a SRC member for the 2025/2026 term, following a ruling by the Student Court. The third respondent in the case, Lihle Baleka, appealed the decision of the Student Court to overturn Anderson’s disqualification on 28 November. The appeal court dismissed the appeal and reinstated Anderson on 13 January.
Anderson received 53,26% of the votes in the 2025 SRC election which took place from 22 to 29 August. The Student Electoral Council (SEC) disqualified Anderson on 5 September 2025 from the 2025/2026 SRC. On 21 November, the Student Court unanimously overruled the SEC’s decision to disqualify Anderson. The third respondent appealed this decision, which was dismissed by the appeal court on 13 January, reinstating Anderson into the SRC.
According to Chapter 7 of the Student Constitution, the appeal court “consists of two lecturers of the Law Faculty, who are appointed by the Dean of the Law Faculty”.
Anderson said he is planning to “publish a regular newsletter about [his] activities on the SRC”. His first newsletter was published as a Substack article on 22 January, which provided a summary of the events leading to his disqualification and reinstatement in the SRC. He also provided some reflection on his experience of this election process. Anderson wrote: “Naming names and satisfying personal vendettas will not solve our university’s problems […].”
In his newsletter, Anderson also said that he would be attending the SRC camp from 23 to 25 January in Paarl. He added that, on 22 January, he “was provided with an estimation of the total cost of catering, transport and accommodation at roughly R45 000 for the weekend”. He said he “will push for full budget transparency on the individual budget items of the camp once the camp has concluded”.
Way forward for the interim SRC
Two members of the interim 2025/2026 SRC, Johan Weideman (transformation and multilingualism portfolio) and Pulane Mtshali, (branding and visibility portfolio), confirmed to Die Matie on 28 January that the SRC is still operating in an interim capacity. This includes Anderson.
Weideman and Mtshali stated that the SRC’s “focus for 2026 is to lead by example and build a student governance culture that students can trust and be proud of”. They also aim to create “an SRC culture that is professional, accountable and respected”.
Anderson said to Die Matie on 1 February that the interim SRC are awaiting the appointment of a new SEC before they can begin internal caucuses and finalise their inauguration date.
The SEC selection was scheduled to take place before the end of the welcoming period, 8 February. Die Matie was told on 8 February that this has not occurred yet. According to Chapter 14 of the Student Constitution, the 2025 SEC’s term ended “no later than the end of the fourth term”.
This new SEC will facilitate the election of the new SRC Chairperson and Executive Committee by the SRC members, marking an official 2025/2026 SRC.
Simiso Langa, interim SRC Chairperson and Chair of the Prim Committee in 2024/2025, confirmed to Die Matie that her term will end once the new chairperson is elected. Langa was not elected in the 2025 SRC election. It was announced on 19 September that she was appointed as a temporary chairperson by Prof. Deresh Ramjugernath, Rector and Vice Chancellor of SU.
According to Chapter 3 of the Student Constitution, the “Executive Committee of the SRC must appoint Electoral Commissioners […].” According to their role guidelines in Chapter 14, these Commissioners are then able to appoint Assistants who, “in cooperation with and under the supervision of the Electoral Commissioners, must ensure that all student leadership elections run smoothly”.
On 24 November, Anderson said to Die Matie that at least some of the 2025 SEC members would have been appointed by the Executive Committee of the 2024/2025 SRC, which “does raise questions about independence,” he added.
The SEC did not provide comment to Die Matie on questions regarding their role, structure and conduct in the 2025 SRC election.
Governance
The Student Court is governed under Chapter 6 of the Student Constitution and consists of five LLB students or LLB graduates. Chapter 6 states that “[m]embers of the Student Court are appointed by a committee, appointed by the Dean of the Law Faculty”.The Student Court explained to Die Matie that the Court’s primary role is to decide on disputes between students and the various student governance bodies. “The Court is responsible for the resolution of student disputes, inter-society disputes, and SRC constitutional matters.”
