Mafeje affair

Mafeje affair
Part of the Protests of 1968
UCT's students surrounding Jameson hall on 15 August 1968
Date	15–23 August 1968
Location	University of Cape Town, City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Caused by	The government pressuring the University of Cape Town to rescind a black Lecturer’s, Archie Mafeje, job offer
Goals	Academic freedom
Methods	Non violent protest and sit-in
Resulted in	Quelling of protests
Parties
UCT's students UCT's staff Students at University of Natal and University of Witwatersrand UCT's Council South African apartheid government Afrikaner students at Stellenbosch University and Pretoria University Local anti-protesters
Lead figures
Duncan Innes Raphie Kaplinsky Philip van der Merwe Tony Shapiro John Vorster Jan de Klerk
Number
+600
Casualties
Arrested	see Arrests

The Mafeje affair^[1] refers to anti-government protests by South African students in 1968 in response to a decision of the council of the University of Cape Town (UCT) to rescind anthropologist Archie Mafeje's job offer for a senior lecturer position due to pressure from the South African apartheid government. The protests were followed by a nine-day sit-in at the university's administration building.

Protesters faced intimidation from the government, anti-protesters and fellow Afrikaans students from other universities. The police swiftly squashed support for the sit-in. Students at other universities, including the University of Natal and the University of Witwatersrand, voted in support of the UCT action. However, the government successfully intervened against a sympathy march at Witwatersrand.

Mafeje was never hired, and he left the country afterwards and did not return until 2000. After his death, UCT apologised to him and his family, and renamed the main room where the sit-in was held in his honour.