AfriForum Youth has filed an urgent application at the Western Cape High Court to contest the disqualification of Jolene le Roux from Stellenbosch University’s Student Representative Council (SRC). The student group contends that the decision, upheld by the university’s Student Court on November 11th, constitutes a broader attempt to marginalise Afrikaans-speaking students and leadership at the institution.

In the words of Yvonne Gerber, Development Officer of AfriForum Youth: “This decision is not only unfair to Le Roux but also to the students who chose her to represent their interests on the SRC. The university’s handling of this case indicates a continuing agenda to keep pro-Afrikaans students out of leadership positions, and therefore the High Court must now intervene in this case of unfair disqualification.”

For the full details of Stellenbosch's persecution of its Afrikaans student candidates, you can read our earlier coverage of this case.

The controversy began in August during the SRC election campaign when Le Roux faced allegations of breaching electoral regulations. Critics claimed she received undue advantage from an AfriForum Youth Instagram post about a National Women’s Day event. Although evidence was all but non-existent, and had to be largely speculated upon, the Student Court ruled that the post constituted an improper candidacy promotion. In September, the university initially dismissed these complaints, deeming disqualification unconstitutional. Le Roux was subsequently elected to the SRC on September 5th. However, a fresh application to disqualify her followed, culminating in an October 5th ruling that she had violated electoral provisions.

AfriForum Youth’s legal appeal challenges both the procedural integrity and fairness of the process, framing it as part of a systemic effort to suppress Afrikaans identity and representation on campus.

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