CPUT SRC want justice after alleged rape

THE alleged rape of a 23-year-old woman by a fellow student at a residence in Observatory, has left the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) community devastated and calling for swift, decisive action against the suspect. 

Students and faculty were left outraged as the 24-year-old suspect was arrested shortly after the incident at the technikon’s Catsville residence over the weekend.

Emotions were still running high yesterday morning as students gathered at the District Six campus to call for the suspect to be denied bail, demanding accountability from both the accused and CPUT.

According to South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk, hundreds of students gathered to protest.

Van Wyk said: “Public Order Police were called in when a group of about 200 students started protesting, demanding access to the suspect.

“Woodstock police registered a rape case following an incident on Saturday at a student residence in Browning Street, Observatory. The complainant is a 23-year-old residing at the same address. This case was transferred to Cape Town FCS for further investigation. A 24-year-old male was arrested.”

The SRC also called for immediate disciplinary action against the suspect and anyone found protecting him. “We demand immediate eviction and suspension of this perpetrator from all CPUT buildings. We refuse to live with rapists and rapist apologists,” the student body said, adding that those who enable such behaviour are “equally guilty.”

“Even though the perpetrator had been evicted from this residence, he still had access to it and ended up committing this disgusting act,” the CPUT Mowbray Campus SRC posted on social media. “We stand with the female who was victimised of her rights and we will not allow her to be silenced and stripped away of her rights further, or any other female.”

Meanwhile, CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley said the university was fully cooperating with the police and reaffirmed its commitment to tackling gender-based violence (GBV).

She said Our Legal Services Unit will monitor the case until its conclusion, and a raft of internal processes, including the possible suspension of the accused and counselling for the victim, will all happen.”

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, confirmed that the suspect made his first appearance in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court yesterday.