Matie 'reluctant' in pursing charges against urinating student - Father
Updated | By Cliff Shiko
Stellenbosch University student Babalo Ndwayana will not lay criminal charges against Theuns du Toit
The father of Babalo Ndwayana, the 20-year-old first-year student in agricultural business management at Stellenbosch University, says his son has decided not to lay criminal charges against fellow student Theuns du Toit.
Mkhuseli Kaduka, who is back home in Eastern Cape, says this was even tough he personally thought Du Toit should face the full might of the law.
"Because he is kind-hearted, he does not want to press charges, he is against that, and I will respect his wishes and not lay charges."
Du Toit was captured on video urinating on Ndwayana’s study materials in his student residence room on Sunday morning.
The video sparked a protest at the university by students and caused a widespread debate on systemic racism at institutions of higher learning.
The student has since been suspended from the university pending an internal investigation.
Kaduka says as the family they want their son to come back home and prepare for the upcoming exams.
"He is not coping well, and we have decided to have him come home and return to school to write exams, this whole attention is overwhelming, and he cannot focus on his studies. He sometimes switches his phone off because of the volume of calls he is receiving."
At the same time he doesn’t believe the university is not taking issues of racism seriously.
"If they took racism seriously, we would not be having such incident. I am told this is not the first incident this year, in this case there is a video, and it must be dealt with decisively. The suspension is temporary and is not a punitive measure."
The university's student affairs director Dr Choice Makhetha said an investigation by their Equality Unit will determine whether the incident was racially motivated.
"The investigation will tell us in detail, we also have to look at all angles around this issue what motivated this because it is totally not acceptable and once, we have all the facts on the table and certain that what was said was discriminatory, we have to deal with that."
ALSO READ:
Show's Stories
-
LISTEN: Actress Sophie Joans talks about her award-winning play
Two extraordinary stage talents, Sophie Joans and Rob van Vuuren, have t...
The Drive with Rob & Roz 19 hours ago -
LISTEN: The best road trip tips ahead of the Easter weekend
From traffic to packing, Rob Forbes and Rozanne McKenzie are sharing tip...
The Drive with Rob & Roz 22 hours ago