After a turbulent term, the Stellenbosch University (SU) Student Representative Council (SRC) has finally elected its 2025/2026 executive. The election of members, on 14 March, had been delayed due to the disqualification and reinstatement of a SRC candidate, which resulted in an interim status.
According to Chapter 4 Section 41 of the Student Constitution, the SRC executive may “make important decisions in urgent cases where it is not practically feasible to convene the SRC” and “decide on the portfolio allocation of the SRC, excluding the compulsory portfolios”.
The SRC first held an internal caucus to elect a chairperson, a position which went to Pulane Mtshali. A hybrid executive caucus open to the public was then convened, with only 20 people attending in person, most of whom were SRC members.
The SRC office at Stellenbosch University on the third floor of the Neelsie student centre. The SRC executive caucus was held in the boardroom, upstairs. PHOTO: Kwanda Mkhonto
Mtshali takes over from Simiso Langa, whom SU appointed as interim SRC chairperson in September 2025. This followed the election of Shaun Mattysen as chief student electoral commissioner of the Student Electoral Commission (SEC) who was required to facilitate the subsequent internal caucuses.
As chairperson, Mtshali’s responsibilities, according to Chapter 4 and Section 28 of the Student Constitution, include “oversight over the activities of the SRC”, and ensuring “that the SRC fulfils its mandate”.
There are five new executive member roles after the chairperson, as required by the Student Constitution. Emilo Botes was elected vice-chairperson, previously having had the oversight of the Social Impact and Sport portfolio in the interim SRC.
Two members were re-elected to hold the same positions they held in the interim SRC: Sinawo Sangovana as treasurer and Ofentse Ledwaba as secretary general, respectively.
The newly elected general executive members are Sanelisiwe Tsawulwayo, who was an Institutional Liaison, and Buhle Mpanza, who previously had the Kultuur Komitee (KUKO) portfolio.
Sinawo Sangovana answers questions from the SRC members after his contesting speech. He was re-elected as the SRC treasurer. PHOTO: Kwanda Mkhonto
Pulane was the only candidate who contested for the role of chairperson. Ben Anderson, an SRC member who received a majority vote in the SRC election, did not contest.
Anderson was disqualified from the 2025/2026 SRC by the SEC on 5 September 2025, but was later reinstated to the SRC after a ruling by the Student Court. Despite being reinstated to the SRC, he did not contest the SRC chairperson role, stating he preferred to focus his energies elsewhere. Anderson added that his views do not align with the majority of his colleagues at the SRC.
He said this would have made it difficult for him if he were chairperson, because it would be hard to gain a consensus. “It would make more sense for them to vote for someone they agreed with,” he said.
SRC members voting during the 14 March 2026 election caucus. PHOTO: Kwanda Mkhonto
Botes took over as the vice-chairperson after Asanda Khweba. According to a statement on the SRC Instagram page, Khweba could not contest for the role of vice-chairperson because they could not register for the 2026 academic year.
Although Khweba graduated in March 2026 after passing a Dean’s Exam, they were unable to register for postgraduate studies this year. Khweba said they sacrificed their academics for the SRC work, a decision they regret. “I decided to sacrifice my academics. That one wasn’t the greatest thing,” Khweba said.
Following the executive election, new SRC portfolios also needed to be allocated resulting in SRC members switching roles. Mtshali said one of the challenges faced by the SRC is the difficulty to “establish a sense of continuity between transitions of an outgoing SRC and an incoming SRC”.
SRC’s executive caucus held on 14 March 2026 to elect new SRC executive members. There were less than 20 people who attended, almost all of which were SRC members. PHOTO: Kwanda Mkhonto
To combat the challenge, Mtshali discussed “establishing an SRC archive” to ensure continuity between SRC terms.
Some students feel that the SRC’s priorities do not align with their own. To address this disconnect, Mtshali said at the beginning of the year the SRC embarked on a roadshow to residences to raise awareness about the SRC to the first year students.
One of the challenges faced by the SRC is the lack of communication with the students. Some students at SU are not aware of what the SRC does. Janine Vermeulen, a final-year student in BA language and culture, said she has never had an encounter with the SRC before. “I just know that they work with student issues,” she said. Vermeulen said she knows someone was elected, but doesn’t know who it was.
To improve communication, Ledwaba said the SRC will no longer rely on social media only. “Major announcements will be communicated through a mass mailer,” he said. Ledwaba said this will help students be aware of decisions and developments made by the SRC.
The students say they would like to see some improvements from the SRC. Some of the students who faced financial blocks and needed assistance, struggled communicating with the SRC. Rosemary Swarts, a third-year social work student, said she had a registration block during the registration period.
She said that she informed two of the SRC members by email. However, she received no communication back from the SRC. “They didn’t really respond to my email, so I had to take matters into my own hands,” she said. Swarts said she hopes the SRC will be more active, and respond in time to help students.
Ledwaba said one of the goals for SRC is to “make sure we [the SRC] have a very functional structure, so that we know it benefits the students,” he said.