Written By: Henry Shields
Last week you queued to have your say about South Africa. This Friday you can secure your say about UCT with just one click.
Last Wednesday, 4 November, about 15.9 million South Africans took part in choosing who will run their towns and cities. Many of us were among them. We stood in the sun, or in the rain, and in some places for hours, waiting to have our say. At some voting stations, an industrious company handed out free juice to people in the queue. At others, the queue for water across the road mattered more than the queue for the ballot box.
Nobody made us stand there. No one is fined for staying at home, and more than 13 million registered voters did. But those of us who went understood something that is easy to forget between elections: those who turn up decide, and those who stay away are decided for.
I don’t like being decided for
Students generally hate having things decided for them. When it happened to me at UCT, it made me furious. Decades later, as a UCT graduate, having others decide things for me makes me no less irate. That is why I voted last Wednesday. It is also why I vote at UCT Convocation.
200 000 members, a few hundred voices
Every UCT graduate is a member of Convocation, the body of close to 200 000 alumni. Convocation holds its annual general meetings in December. Only members who have registered can vote there.
Few do. About 100 alumni attended the AGM in December 2024. In December 2025 the number rose to around 3 000 who registered to attend online and 350 in person.
Put plainly: when you stay away, a room of a few hundred people speaks for 200 000 graduates, including you.
Registration closes on Friday, 13 November, and takes a few minutes online: register here.
There is no queue, no ballot box and no waiting in the heat. Last week, millions of South Africans decided the effort was worth it, in the sun and in the rain. This asks far less of you.
Why a university vote matters as much
It may seem a stretch to compare a university meeting with a national election. It is less of a stretch than it looks. Active citizenship is catchy.
Convocation is one of the few formal routes alumni have into how UCT is run. At the AGM, members vote on motions. Those motions reach Council: in June this year, the President of Convocation briefed Council on the motions passed in December 2025. The Convocation constituency also elects four alumni to sit on Council itself.
UCT in the headlines
That voice counts for more than ever right now. Here is how the media has reported on UCT’s leadership since August:
UCT Convocation distances itself from petition calling for Norman Arendse to resign
Cape Argus, 3 November
“Another UCT leadership crisis: 34 complaints, secret findings and a VC in court”, Daily Maverick, 7 August
“UCT Council halts implementation of resolutions at centre of Mosa Moshabela’s court battle”, Sowetan, 17 August
“Former UCT staffer calls for probe following fabricated complaint against VC”, TimesLIVE, 29 August
“UCT complaint mystery deepens”, TimesLIVE, 3 October
“UCT governance crisis: VC’s confidential letter details ‘breakdown’ with council chair”, News24, 23 October
“Prof Mosa Moshabela raises alarm over disclosure of confidential UCT council reports”, Sunday Times, 28 October
“University of Cape Town vs. Free Speech”, Daily Nous, 6 November
The Vice-Chancellor is suing the Council. Confidential reports were published, then withdrawn. A council member faces removal over remarks made on a podcast and another over a social media post.
Alumni will disagree about who is right and who is wrong.
But no graduate should be comfortable reading that list. These are not stories about research or rankings. They are stories about how the university governs itself.
UCT needs rational alumni now more than ever: graduates who read, ask questions and vote on the evidence. Convocation is where that happens.
Convocation is one of UCT’s protections against standpoints made by a few on behalf of many. That protection is only as strong as the people who use it.
Keep your streak going
Last Wednesday you showed that you know how this works. You did not leave it to others to decide who would run your city. You queued, you marked your ballot, and your vote was counted alongside millions of others.
UCT deserves the same care. Registering takes five minutes, and you can do it from your couch.
The headlines will keep coming but whether the headlines that emanate from the Convocation speak your truth will depend on you.
Register by Friday, 13 November. Then turn up on 3 December and vote on motions that matter to you.
Henry Shields is a Rational Standard guest author.