By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
A student representative council (SRC) member has been suspended from the University of Cape Town after the Special Sexual Offences Tribunal found the student guilty of sexual misconduct.
Last year, UCT’s Special Tribunal for Gender-Based Violence launched a probe into sexual misconduct allegations that were levelled against a SRC member.
An anonymous social media user took to Twitter, going into great detail about the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of one of UCT’s highest-ranking student leaders.
She said that she was raped in October last year and that a friend of the accused, another senior SRC member, later witnessed him sexually harassing her but did nothing to stop it.
On Wednesday, The SRC confirmed the suspension in a statement:
“He has been removed from the SRC with immediate effect and he has been suspended from the University of Cape Town for a period of 24 months (2 years) from 13 February 2023, subject to an appeal within 7 days.
“The SRC is repulsed and condemns the violence inflicted upon the survivors.
“We stand in solidarity with the victims of sexual assault and stand arm-in-arm with survivors.
“We will continue to fight against the pandemic of Sexual and Gender Based Violence which plagues our country and world at large.