WILGENHOF RESIDENCE TO CLOSE DOWN

The controversial Wilgenhof men’s residence at Stellenbosch University will be closed down. In its place “a reimagined and rejuvenated male residence” will open.

This is according to a statement released by the University on Monday night.

“A renewed residence would acknowledge the constructive aspects of Wilgenhof while making a decisive break with the unacceptable and secretive practices of the past.”

The residence made headlines this year when a reporter was allowed into the secretive rooms of the residence where decades of activities, often mostly illegal, took place.

News24 reports that one of the rooms, Hool 88, was where Wilgenhof’s internal disciplinary committee, known as the Nagligte, conducted its disciplinary activity at night, while the other room, “Toe Argief”, contained a trove of Nagligte costumes, shoes and paraphernalia.

The council said that the residence will close at the end of this academic year and will be closed for 2025.

This will give the university enough time to comply with the higher education department’s policy on the minimum norms and standards for student housing at public universities.

The new residence will also be a male-only one but will open in 2026 with a new name.

Image credit: News24