Stellenbosch sets up independent race inquiry
But students only want action against tormentor
Stellenbosch University will set up an external independent commission of inquiry into incidents of racism and harassment, rector and vice-chancellor Wim de Villiers said yesterday.
De Villiers made the commitment while speaking to about 300 students who arrived at the university administration building after marching through the town. They were protesting about Sunday’s racist incident in which a white student, Theuns du Toit, entered the room of a black student, Babalo Ndwayana, and urinated on his laptop and other belongings. The incident, which Ndwayana filmed with his cellphone, has led to calls for Du Toit’s expulsion. Ndwayana has also laid criminal charges against him.
In his address, De Villiers appealed to them to allow “due process” in the university’s investigation of Sunday’s incident. But the students said they would sleep on the steps of the administration building until Du Toit is expelled. De Villiers was heckled when he made a remark about “alleged” racism. He was shouted down when his remarks failed to satisfy the students’ demands for swift action against the son of a Worcester wine farmer. After an hour he went back inside the building.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday the Ndwayanas arrived in the Western Cape to accompany him home to Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape. Ndwayana’s uncle, Anele Mnyondo, met leaders of the ANC in the province and said the family was shocked by the incident.
“We were angry. We were scared for him. He had just come from the Eastern Cape and it was the first time coming over here (to the Western Cape). So for him to encounter such a crime, I would say crime in a sense because it is quite uncomfortable for the family,” Mnyondo said.
“I was sent by the family to give him support. We are asking that we can give him some space in the meantime because he needs to recover from all of this.”
Ndwayana’s father Kuseli Kaduka said he has no immediate intention of meeting his counterpart – the father of the student accused of tormenting his son. He told Sowetan sister publication TimesLIVE that before a meeting takes place he wants the police and the university to conclude their investigations into the incident.
Kaduka said he would have expected to receive some form of apology from either the perpetrator or his father immediately after the incident.
“That is why I delayed laying charges against him [Theuns du Toit]. I was expecting an adult person would reach out to me [immediately] and that we could talk this through sensibly,” Kaduka said.
Instead, he only received a call from Rudi du Toit, general manager of the Worcester wine farm, on Wednesday.
“They kept quiet. It was disappointing that the father did not reach out to me [earlier], the aggrieved parent. Maybe some compassion would have been shown,” Kaduka said.
Kaduka added he did not have plans to meet with the Du Toits but to restore his son’s dignity.