Instagrammer Skye Grove suspended from Cape Town Partnership pending investigation

Cape Town Partnership CEO Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana on Thursday announced that the organisation’s Communications Manager Skye Grove was officially “suspended”, pending an inquiry by an independent HR specialist, following revelations that she had stolen and sold other people’s photographs on Instagram, including those of international photographers.

The announcement was made via an email newsletter sent to the Cape Town Partnership community.

Memeburn first broke the news of Grove’s plagiarism last week, later uncovering evidence that the prominent Instagrammer who had more than 40 000 followers, had knowingly sold images which weren’t her own, profiting from the deception.

Makalima-Ngewana said that the HR specialist would make a “recommendation on what the appropriate course of action should be”, and that the final decision will be endorsed and approved by the Cape Town Partnership board.

The Cape Town Partnership boss said that she would inform stakeholders of the final decision.

The Cape Town Partnership is a public-private-NGO, formed 10 years ago, that is a collaboration between the public and private sectors working together to develop, promote and manage Cape Town Central City as “a place for all citizens”. It is an organisation formed by the City of Cape Town, the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA), the Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other stakeholders.

Read more: Instagram scandal: Grove on ‘unpaid leave’, Cape Town Partnership boss speaks out

The NGO organises a number of events across the city, including Creative Week — described “as an annual nine-day celebration of creativity, innovation and culture”, and is also involved in a number of projects aimed finding creative solutions to issues faced by the city.

In the email on Thursday, Makalima-Ngewana further stated that while Grove’s plagiarism took place in her personal life, she noted that “one’s personal and professional reputations are intertwined in the current social media climate”.

“I wrote then, and truly believe, that while these blurred boundaries can bring painful truths to light, they also offer opportunities for profound learning and compassion. I iterated that in the two years I’ve worked with Skye, I have come to value her insights and contribution and that I have no reason to believe that she’s been responsible for any misdemeanours in the course of her work at the Cape Town Partnership,” she wrote.

Makalima-Ngewana said that the “overwhelming response” to her initial statement on the Grove matter was one of support, although she had received messages questioning her leniency.

“Several wrote in with advice on how we can seek fair redress to the situation. Thank you to all who’ve responded,” she wrote.

Read more: Top South African Instagrammer accused of plagiarism, fraud

In a previous circular, Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana had said that Grove was on “unpaid leave”.

Writing in the newsletter at the time, expressing support for Grove, the Cape Town partnership boss said: “I believe that Skye’s actions in her private life have not detracted from the value she adds to our organisation. Nor do I have reason to believe that she’s been responsible for any misdemeanors in the course of her work at the Cape Town Partnership.”

Read more: What does the Skye Grove plagiarism incident tell us about ethics in social media, journalism?

The Grove plagiarism incident is one of the biggest to hit South Africa in recent years. As former Mail & Guardian editor-in-chief points out in article published on Memeburn on Wednesday, the last big plagiarism story was probably way back in 2003, when columnist Darrel Bristow-Bovey and Elle editor Cynthia Vongai were caught out lifting sections of text from other authors.

More recently, Western Cape premier Helen Zille accused a Cape Times journalist of plagiarising an article about Foetal Alchohol Syndrome. Another accusation was levelled against Gillian Schutte in 2013 for a post she authored on Mail & Guardian’s Thought Leader blogging platform.

READ ORIGINAL STATEMENT HERE:

Heritage month offers a chance for all of us to reflect on and reconnect with our own cultures and history. I am particularly grateful to my parents for shaping me into the woman I am. As the daughter of an Anglican archdeacon, I remain profoundly impacted by my father’s talk of forgiveness and the gift of grace. These lessons have stood me in good stead over the past week, when Skye Grove, our communications manager become caught up in a media storm regarding her appropriation of the work of others in her personal capacity as a hobby photographer.

I responded by sending out a letter to our database in which I stated that though these actions took place in Skye’s personal life, I realise that one’s personal and professional reputations are intertwined in the current social media climate. I wrote then, and truly believe, that while these blurred boundaries can bring painful truths to light, they also offer opportunities for profound learning and compassion. I iterated that in the two years I’ve worked with Skye, I have come to value her insights and contribution and that I have no reason to believe that she’s been responsible for any misdemeanours in the course of her work at the Cape Town Partnership.

I am pleased to report that the overwhelming response to my statement was one of support, though I received a few messages questioning my leniency. Several wrote in with advice on how we can seek fair redress to the situation. Thank you to all who’ve responded. Since issuing this statement, we have engaged the services of an independent HR specialist to lead an inquiry into the matter and to make a recommendation on what the appropriate course of action should be. The final decision will have to be endorsed by and approved by our board. Meanwhile, Skye is currently suspended pending the outcome of the HR process. We will inform you of the outcome of this process. In the interim, any queries should be addressed to me at ceo@capetownpartnership.co.za.

Image: Screengrab via YouTube.