Joburg - Former Stellenbosch University student Theuns du Toit has lost his appeal against his expulsion.
Du Toit was expelled in July after being caught on camera urinating on the property of fellow student Babalo Ndwayana in an incident that happened in May this year.
On Monday, an independent disciplinary committee announced its decision to uphold Du Toit’s expulsion after he had sought to challenge it.
“The permanent suspension of Mr Theuns du Toit from Stellenbosch University (SU) must be maintained, and he may not return to the university,” the committee ruled.
The committee said after evaluating the available evidence, it found his permanent suspension to have been an appropriate penal action for the offence, as found by the independent central disciplinary committee (CDC) of the university.
The ruling comes a week after the university released a damning report into the allegations of racism at the institution, prepared by former chief justice Sisi Khampepe, which found that even though the university had tried to end racism and discrimination, there was still a long way to go before the institution was seen as being representative of the country’s diversity.
“My own criticism of the university is that transformation has occurred in a piecemeal and disjointed fashion… As commendable as these strides may be, evidence before the commission revealed that functionality of the transformation apparatus is being hampered by bureaucracy and hierarchy,” the report said.
Du Toit’s expulsion from Maties is detailed in a 37-page ruling, with the committee agreeing with the CDC’s decision to expel him.
In August, Du Toit’s team sought to argue on appeal before the institution’s disciplinary committee that Ndwayana had made contradictory statements about the incident, bringing into question the claim that Du Toit was a racist.
“Therefore, we are of the view, like the CDC, that the conduct of Mr Du Toit undoubtedly assailed the human dignity, integrity and security of Mr Ndwayana; it was deeply humiliating, degrading and destructive of Mr Ndwayana’s property,” the ruling found.
According to the committee, the university cannot strive for 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.
The Star