The University of Cape Town (UCT) announced on Monday the approval for the renaming of the Smuts Hall residence, which will be known as the Upper Campus Residence until the process of determining a new name is formally concluded.

The university said this process marks a new moment for UCT and indicates how far the institution has come – under the current executive leadership – since the time of the #RhodesMustFall movement.

UCT said this decision by Council takes immediate effect.

“The utter pain and anguish at the time of the decision to remove the Rhodes statue from campus was significant. And yet, we have as a campus moved closer to a community that can speak with one another, can acknowledge the complexities of the past but honour its gifts, can engage each other to come to new names of campus spaces that we feel are more representative of our current values and who we are as an inclusive collective,” said UCT Chair of Council Babalwa Ngonyama.

Ngonyama added that the Council’s decision will allow UCT to move on from the past while continuing to recognise the significance of its legacy. 

She added that the changing of names should go beyond the name being changed for the reason that it is a source of discomfort or pain for those advocating for change, and equally it should not be viewed as an act of diminishing, discarding or deviating from history by those who would wish that the status quo should remain.