Cape Town - Exactly one year since the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) announced decorated and highly-revered Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye as creative adviser for its non-commemoration projects, several institutions have publicly cut ties with Adjaye and his practice Adjaye Associates (AA) after allegations of sexual misconduct against him were brought to light.
On July 14 last year, Adjaye, 56, was appointed to head up a judging committee that would deliberate over and choose a winning design for a proposed memorial to be erected at the Company’s Garden, in Cape Town.
The proposed memorial was set to honour more than 1 600 black South African servicemen and women from various labour units who died during World War I. They are believed to be buried in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa.
The CWGC honours the 1.7 million people who died in the armed forces of the British Empire during World Wars I and II, and began building cemeteries and memorials across the world in the wake of World War I (1914-1918).
CWGC now maintains sites at 23 000 locations in over 150 countries.
At the time, CWGC said Adjaye was tasked with advising the CWGC on the gaps in commemoration of all servicemen and women who died during the two world wars and propose how any such gaps could be rectified.
In South Africa, Adjaye is responsible for designing the Thabo Mbeki Presidential Library commissioned by the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, the Hugh Masekela Memorial Pavilion (2019), and Hallmark House (2018), all in Johannesburg.
The allegations of sexual misconduct, coercion and abuse of power by three former AA employees were recalled in a 4 000-word Financial Times article published last week.
Since its publication, Adjaye has stepped down from numerous roles held as well as projects he had been involved in.
The journalists working on the investigation spent a year documenting and corroborating the claims made by the former employees.
Two women recalled sexual coercion in his apartment in Ghana where Adjaye had opened his office in 2018.
The women also said the company had failed to pay salaries on time, leaving them in a precarious position. His wife, Ashley Shaw-Scott Adjaye, is the current Global Head at the company.
An instance of sexual assault involving one of the women had also allegedly taken place inside a bathroom for persons with disabilities at the OR Tambo International Airport in mid-2019. The two were in the country working on a project launch.
A criminal complaint was reportedly made against Adjaye in South Africa in September 2021.
A third woman recalled sexual assault inside the Royal Academy of Arts in early 2019, having used his influence to gain entry after hours.
Adjaye had reportedly admitted to a sexual relationship while the woman offered professional services to the company, but said these were consensual.
The women also shared how this had negatively impacted their careers, mental health and financial situation.
On Tuesday, academic research institute the Africa Institute, based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, announced the cancellation of Adjaye’s campus building project as a result of the allegations.
CWGC said following the serious allegations, Adjaye resigned from his advisory role as creative adviser to the CWGC’s non-commemoration programme.
“Sir David has chosen to step away as he does not want these allegations to detract from the work of the CWGC.”
CWGC said it was important to note that the planned Labour Corps Memorial to be constructed at the Company’s Garden was designed by Dean Jay Architects from Durban, and not Adjaye.
CWGC said the new memorial is proceeding as planned, with construction anticipated to start in 2024.
Adjaye had been commissioned to design the new UK Holocaust Memorial & Learning Centre in London, the National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra, and a museum of West African art in Benin City, Nigeria.