Dylan Bettencourt
The black student whose dorm room was broken into by an intruder – who urinated on his desk, books and laptops in a racial attack – will lay criminal charges.
The University of Stellenbosch confirmed the incident on Monday and suspended the student allegedly responsible for the intrusion.
University spokesperson Marias Viljoen said the student suspected of the outrage is still liable to face expulsion and criminal charges.
“[Following his suspension] a further swift but detailed investigation will determine the final outcomes. Expulsion and/or criminal charges are not excluded from the possible available options, based on the investigation’s findings,” he said.
The father of the victim confirmed that his son will lay criminal charges.
“He will later today lay charges of malicious damage to property at the Stellenbosch police station,” the distraught father told Weekend Argus.
“He has never been away from his house at all, so it’s sad for me to see that he had to experience such pain so early in his life. My son told me that everything is soaked in pee.”
The suspect said he would break his silence at a later stage.
“The student affected is clearly still in shock after his very upsetting and painful ordeal,” the university’s Dr Choice Makhetha said.
“He is still trying to process what happened and was offered counselling. He will be supported as and when required to ensure his academic progress is not affected by the incident.”
The South African Students’ Congress (Sasco) said the attack was racially motivated.
“On the morning of 15 May, the said racist trespassed and racially attacked the first-year black student in his room in Huis Marais in Stellenbosch University.
“When asked by the victim, the racist response was that it is what they do to black boys,” a Sasco statement read.
This is not the first instance of post-apartheid racism at a South African university. In 2008 a video surfaced showing five black cleaners being “initiated” by white students in a male residence at the University of Free State.
Image source: @CapeTownETC
