His death brought into sharp focus the role that mental health, student protests, as well as transformation at higher education institutions, played in the lives of high-profile black academics.

In its 157-page report, the panel – chaired by former deputy vice-chancellor Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo - criticised UCT's handling of the news of Mayosi's death, calling it "on the whole, poor, fragmented and, on occasion, ill-considered".

According to the panel's findings, the unprecedented "intensity and sometimes confrontational nature" of the UCT student protests were a "source of rupture", causing divisions among staff members and management as well as within the student body.

"The report correctly points out that it would be injudicious to consider the student protests, which happened two years prior to 2018, as the main cause of Professor Mayosi's anxiety and depression.

"In this toxic context, black academics who excel and are placed in leadership positions find themselves pitted between stubborn conservative paternalistic agents and the students and staff advocating for transformation," it said.