The faculty of humanities at the University of Cape Town is in turmoil after an academic who was unhappy with the outcome of a vote for the dean stomped on ballot boxes and carried out “verbal and physical attacks”.

This came after his preferred candidate for the dean’s job — a black South African woman — received only 27% of the votes.

UCT vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng e-mailed humanities staff after the June 11 incident, saying it was regrettable that an individual had “disrupted the process through interference with the ballot boxes and ballot papers”.

Phakeng said the academic in question, Lwazi Lushaba, had “received a letter of reprimand” for conduct that was “unacceptable, inappropriate and disrespectful”.

The Black Academic Caucus (BAC) at UCT also lashed out at Lushaba for trying to divide black South Africans from Africans from other countries on the continent.