Appointment of new Ombud for UCT

Dear members of the UCT community

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Nashira Abrahams to the position of Ombud at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Her contract took effect on 1 May 2023.

The Office of the Ombud is an independent and impartial institution, established by the UCT Council, to provide a voluntary, confidential and informal service to all members of the university community, with the aim of securing the just, fair and equitable treatment of each and every member of the university community. It provides its services to the university community (including Council, staff, current and past students, the university’s visitors, and contractors), predicated on the principles of fairness.

The office provides a neutral, informal, confidential and independent environment where members of the university community may raise complaints or concerns and may seek information and guidance about any alleged acts, omissions, rules or other matters relating to the functioning of the university.

Ms Abrahams knows UCT well as an alumna. She holds an LLM degree, Bachelor of Social Science in social anthropology (honours) and a Bachelor of Social Science in psychology and sociology from this university. Her tenure and training through the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration has qualified her as an expert labour law practitioner (now accredited as a postgraduate qualification), as well as an experienced alternative dispute resolution accredited mediator, lead negotiator and arbitrator.

• View Ms Abraham’s abbreviated CV.

We welcome Ms Abrahams to the university and are looking forward to the value she will add to UCT in this role.

We also wish to thank Professor Ihron Rensburg for acting as the interim Ombud while we conducted the search for a permanent appointee.

Sincerely

Babalwa Ngonyama, CA (SA), MBA
Chair of UCT Council

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• From the UCT Executive
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