Stellenbosch University’s CDC finds male student guilty of sexual misconduct
5 August 2022
Following the initial reporting of an alleged sexual assault to the South African Police Service on 18 May by a female student at Stellenbosch University (SU), the affected student also lodged a complaint with SU’s Equality Unit, which referred the matter to Student Discipline for investigation. A student disciplinary enquiry followed, and the University’s independent Central Disciplinary Committee (CDC) proceeded to conduct a hearing in this regard.
On 4 August 2022, the CDC found a male student guilty of instances of sexual misconduct in Majuba Residence on 17 May 2022. The sanctions imposed are: (1) the male student is expelled from SU and (2) the sanction must be published to the student community in a manner that Student Discipline finds suitable. However, the identity of the parties must be redacted, and no information may be disclosed that enables the identification of any of the witnesses involved in the proceedings. In terms of the SU Student Disciplinary Code the male student has five workdays to appeal the CDC finding and sanction. The Code is available here.
The criminal case with regards to this matter proceeds and enquiries in this regard can be directed at the South African Police Service.
“The University maintains a strict zero-tolerance approach to gender-based violence,” says Prof Deresh Ramjugernath, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Learning and Teaching.
“As Management, we reiterate our deep distress regarding incidents of sexual misconduct. The University condemns all forms of crime and any infringement on human rights including gender-based violence in the strongest possible terms. In line with our Unfair Discrimination and Harassment policy we will continue to combat gender-based violence on our campuses.”
“Management respects the independence of the SU student disciplinary process and values the expertise of the CDC”, Prof Ramjugernath adds.
Statement issued by Martin Viljoen, Manager: Media, Stellenbosch University, 5 August 2022
