The South African Union of Students (SAUS) released a statement which included their reaction to the expulsion of the student, who was filmed urinating on the belongings of a fellow student.
“The union welcomes enthusiastically the expulsion of the Stellenbosch University Racist nincompoop! We further note and welcome the affirmation by the University Disciplinary Committee of our characterization of the incident as a Racist attack,” read the statement.
SAUS also welcomes the appointment of Justice Sisi Khampepe to lead an independent inquiry into the alleged racism at the institution. The union believes that the above interventions will edge the students closer to battling racism at Stellenbosch University.
In May 2022, Theuns du Toit was filmed urinating on the desk, laptop and books of Babalo Ndwayana at Stellenbosch University. After the incident took place, Ndwayana laid a criminal complaint against du Toit.
The charges included housebreaking, crimen injuria, and malicious damage to property. Crimen injuria is a wilful injury to someone's dignity, caused by the use of obscene or racially offensive language or gestures.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said prosecutors at Stellenbosch Magistrates Court referred the case docket to the director of public prosecutions for a decision, who in turn sent it back to police for further investigation.
Following the disciplinary hearing, du Toit was expelled and given five working days to appeal the decision made. Sifiso Zungu, the South African Students Congress (SASCO) provincial convenor, stated that the expulsion sends a stern message against any form of racism at the university.
