Former student’s court bid struck off roll

THE CASE of a former UCT student, who sued the university for various amounts, was thrown out of the Western Cape High Court .

Sibusiso Mpendulo brought three separate cases against UCT. The first case was when he was injured in 2015, the second for “unlawful exclusion” and the third for a fabricated charge.

In part of his court papers, Mpendulo wanted the university to pay R600 000 for defamation of character, R300 000 for emotional trauma and R100 000 for malicious prosecution in respect of damages.

He states: “I became frustrated with the slow pace of the arbitration process, and even asked for support from the Office of the Public Protector, in September 2017, which referred me to the South African Human Rights Commission, but that office has a backlog of complaints.”

Mpendulo was stabbed in the chest in a residence, in 2015, after trying unsuccessfully to reach security staff. He said the university should be held responsible. Mpendulo was a fourthyear media studies student at the time of the stabbing.

According to him, when campus security arrived at the scene, and as he lay bleeding, they allowed his attacker to leave.

Mpendulo said he was studying in his residence room on May 24 when he heard a resident call for help after 11pm. He went to the student’s room, where he found him and two women. The resident asked him to call security as the women had attacked him.

Mpendulo appeared briefly in the court yesterday when he tried to state his case without any legal representation. The case was struck off the roll.