DA’s Stellenbosch head wants urgent debate on urinating student incident by university council

17 May 2022 - 13:28
By TImesLIVE
DA MP Leon Schreiber, right, with Stellenbosch mayor Gesie van Deventer at the Franschhoek Literary Festival on May 12 2022. Schreiber wants Stellenbosch University management to account for all remedial steps taken after a racist incident. File photo.
Image: Twitter/Leon Schreiber DA MP Leon Schreiber, right, with Stellenbosch mayor Gesie van Deventer at the Franschhoek Literary Festival on May 12 2022. Schreiber wants Stellenbosch University management to account for all remedial steps taken after a racist incident. File photo.

The racist incident involving a student urinating inside another student’s room at Stellenbosch University needs to be discussed by the university council, the DA said on Tuesday.

First-year student Theuns du Toit entered the room of fellow student Babalo Ndwayana and was captured on video as he urinated on Ndwayana's property, including his laptop and books. The incident is being investigated.

“We urge that the matter be handled with the requisite speed, diligence and seriousness demanded by the situation,” said the DA’s Stellenbosch constituency head, Leon Schreiber.

“We also encourage the university authorities to provide all necessary support to Mr Ndwayana to minimise the impact of this on his studies. He did not ask for this to happen, and he should not suffer adverse consequences.”

Schreiber said as a member of the university council, he had written to registrar Wim de Villiers asking for the matter to “be urgently placed on the agenda for the upcoming council meeting so management can account for all remedial steps taken”.

Du Toit was a friend of Ndwayana’s roommate, Ndwayana told Newzroom Afrika. He said Du Toit had urinated over his books, laptop and desk early on Sunday.  

“I didn’t really interact with him. I only knew him because he is my roommate’s friend. When he used to visit my roommate, he would make small talk with me,” Ndwayana said in the interview. 

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