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The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN), acting on behalf of its alumni members, hereby confirms that it has received legal summonses for civil defamation as well as an application to obtain an interdict against the Higher Education Transformation Network (High Court Case No: 5786/ 2013) from Kriek Wassenaar and Venter Inc, attorneys purporting to act on behalf of Mr Willem Durrand Spies of Afriforum.

These were received after the HETN leadership refused to yield to the legal demands from Mr Spies’ attorneys to “tender an apology and give undertakings not to repeat false, defamatory remarks and innuendo” regarding our assertions that:-

1. Mr Spies has, as former Chairperson of the Sonop Mens Hostel in 1993 – 1994 presided over the systematic abuse, victimization and exclusion of countless black students at the Sonop Mens Hostel.
2. That Mr Spies has, by virtue of being an active former Konserwatiewe Party (KP) and Afrikaner Studentewag member and leader at the University of Pretoria, been involved in the violent campus disruption of a series of meetings involving the meeting attended by, amongst others, the former President Nelson Mandela in 1991.
3. That Mr Spies contributed to the suffering and humiliation of black students at the University of Pretoria. We have referred the summonses and planned interdict to our attorneys, Sanchez Skosana Inc for further recourse and will defend both legal applications vicariously. The HETN leadership hereby stands by all its statements and will not tender any apologies to Mr Spies or Afriforum in this regard. We remain confident that we possess the necessary evidence to substantiate our assertions within the relevant legal fora.

We will not be intimidated nor will we cower from advocating for inclusive transformation and exposing racism in higher education but will consistently stand by our standpoint in disputing and rejecting of the recent sham “election” of Mr Willie Spies of Afriforum to the Council of the University of Pretoria on the basis of “advancement of the general interests of the UP”.

We will not be deterred by futile intimidatory legal tactics into abandoning our Equality Court legal action (Case No: EC38/2012)
against the University of Pretoria, Tuks Alumni Board and Mr Spies at the Equality Court.