Cape Town - Former Stellenbosch University (SU) student Theuns du Toit, who was expelled for urinating on fellow student Babalo Ndwayana’s belongings in May, has failed to have his expulsion overturned.
Du Toit was caught on video urinating on Ndwayana’s study desk, damaging his laptop and study notes, at Huis Marais male residence.
A disciplinary hearing into the matter by an independent Central Disciplinary Committee (CDC) was concluded in June and Du Toit was found guilty of contravening clauses of the university’s disciplinary code for students by the committee.
He was also found guilty of contravening amended residence rules.
The CDC expelled Du Toit from the university with immediate effect, and he was given five work days to file a notice of appeal.
Du Toit’s legal representative subsequently lodged an appeal with the university’s independent disciplinary appeals committee (DAC), saying that the CDC conclusions were based on unproven facts and that the committee had erred in other aspects as well.
The DAC, however, upheld the ruling, stating that Du Toit’s expulsion was appropriate and justified.
“The university’s institutional values of mutual respect, compassion, accountability and excellence derive their thrust from the university’s vision for where it wants to go, and what it wants to be.
“As the CDC correctly noted, the university cannot strive toward its envisioned future if it does not take decisive action and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to conduct that causes mental harm, is grossly insulting, hugely humiliating and demeans the human dignity of others.
“Therefore we are of the view, like the CDC, that the conduct of Mr Du Toit in charge 2 undoubtedly assailed the human dignity, integrity and security of Mr Ndwayana. It was deeply humiliating, degrading and also destructive of Mr Ndwayana’s property,” the DAC found.
Ndwayana’s father, Mkuseli Kaduka, told the Cape Times he welcomed the decision, but still believed that there was more the university could do to ensure such incidents did not happen again.
Kaduka said the long process had been difficult for his family.
“It’s been a trying time indeed, from worrying about our child’s safety to ensuring that he deals with all this in a way that will not scar him permanently, since he was only just starting to find his footing in tertiary.
“I have also been receiving strange messages from people who have been harassing me on social media. But that will not deter me from pursuing this matter further; it has rather just strengthened my resolve.
That is why I was fearing for my child because he’s not equipped to deal with such individuals who are subtle in their approach, but still very much racist,” the father said.
Du Toit did not respond to questions on Thursday.
The ruling comes after a scathing report by retired Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe found that black students and staff at the university still felt unwelcome and excluded.
SU deputy vice-chancellor in Learning and Teaching, Professor Deresh Ramjugernath, said: “The university viewed the case in a very serious light, but supported the right to appeal in the interest of fairness and a just outcome.
“The reactions and emotions unleashed by the Huis Marais incident, as also considered and reflected by the Khampepe Commission in its report, emphasised to SU’s management that the lived experiences of many students and staff must be acknowledged and addressed,” Ramjugernath said.
“Stellenbosch University again commits itself unconditionally to the ideal of an inclusive, world-class university in and for Africa.”
Cape Times