R27m: Cost to remove UCT vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng

Getting rid of the embattled University of Cape Town vice-chancellor, Mamokgethi Phakeng, who was given a new five-year contract six months ago, could cost the university R27-million in severance pay.

Phakeng returned to Cape Town this week, cutting short her sabbatical in Britain and Europe, amid a growing crisis of governance, racism allegations and mounting opposition to her leadership at a divided UCT campus. 

The mathematics professor has walked into a cauldron, with tension brewing openly as her opponents threaten legal action and questions float about what it would cost to depose her.