The top CEO who was a former Wilgenhof ‘Ku Klux Klan’ member

Former Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson has revealed that he was a member of Wilgenhof Residence’s infamous “Ku Klux Klan” disciplinary committee, which plunged Stellenbosch University into controversy after its initiation rituals came to light.

However, Basson argued that about three-quarters of what was said about the residence’s “Nagligte” as they are known, is nonsense.

“I was a Ku Klux Klan man,” Basson told Netwerk24 in an interview, referring to the committee that would wear hoods resembling those of the white supremacist group.

“I’ve always said that I would like to buy the place and take the hoods away and have them wear ‘Groot Trek kappies’ instead.”

“But most of what has been said about the Wilgenhof is nonsense,” he added

Basson said that he plans to have a book written to objectively tell the story of Wilgenhof and its traditions, which will also include any critique of the residence.

In early 2024, the university conducted a surprise inspection of  Wilgenhof men’s residence, which is the oldest on the campus, after a staff member was allegedly tipped off about “two suspicious rooms.”

These two rooms were referred to by students as the “strafkamer” (punishment room) and “Hool (filthy) 88.”

Images from inside these rooms were soon published by the media, which showed that they contained the black hoods, hence Basson’s reference to the nagligte as the “Ku Klux Klan”, and depictions of initiation rituals.

It was also reported that a toxic mixture of linseed oil and aloe crystals, allegedly used to bring on acute diarrhoea, was found in one of the rooms and an indemnity form for the participation in “boot-camp style exercise programs.”

One of the rooms also contained a board with images of initiation practices spanning back over 100 years.

The Wilgenhof Alumni Association responded to the findings, saying that the items had been preserved in the residence’s archives and that “could be misunderstood if not explained in its correct historical context.”

Stellenbosch University then announced that it had launched an investigation into the matter.

Then, in mid-February, the university’s rectorate appointed an independent panel, chaired by Advocate Nick de Jager, to investigate the findings in the two rooms and return with a report.

After receiving the report, the Rectorate confirmed that it had accepted the panel’s principal recommendation that the residence be closed.

This was later accepted by the Stellenbosch University Council, which said that it would be replaced with a “reimagined and rejuvenated male residence” and then challenged by the Wilgenhof Bond in the Western Cape High Court.

However, allegations soon arose that there had been “improper interference” in the independent panel’s findings. This stemmed from an affidavit submitted by the university’s Chancellor, Justice Edwin Cameron, in support of the Wilgenhof Bond’s case.

He claimed that the Rector, Wim de Villiers, and the Council chair, Nicky Newton-King, had removed an alternative to the closure of residence from the report, which was a “truly deep, carefully managed and facilitated dialogue on campus.”

The appointed panel decided that while De Villiers and Newton-King should have disclosed this amendment, Cameron, as Chancellor and a former resident of Wilgenhof, should not have been involved in the university’s business.

The residence was ultimately closed for the first semester of 2025, allowing the university to use the opportunity to renovate the hostel. Students began moving back into Wilgenhof in July.