Family of the white Stellenbosch University student who peed in a black student’s room have broken their silence, saying he is remorseful and “cried for days” after incident was exposed.
Theuns du Toit, who is currently on a break with his family, made headlines when he urinated on Babalo Ndwayana’s desk and laptop at the Huis Marais residence earlier this month.
He has been handed a temporary suspension pending an investigation by SU.
Babalo has since received a new laptop and was offered counselling, while the university booked him a flight home so he can be with his family, the institution said.
Du Toit’s uncle, Marius “Bankies” van der Bank, broke the family’s silence in an emotional interview with the Weekend Argus on Friday.
He said he was first made aware of the scandal when Theuns’ mother contacted him: “Most of what she said was inaudible because she just couldn’t hold back the tears,” he said.
Marius’ son, Adriaan, is the captain of Stellenbosch University’s first rugby team and the two young men have a very good relationship, the uncle said.
He said Theuns feels nothing but disappointed in his actions: “He was crying because he felt so disappointed. We need to be supportive, what else can we do?”
He described the scandal as “terrible” and said that while Theuns should be punished for his actions, he is not a racist: “Theuns is not a racist, his parents did not raise him like that,” he said.
“We all know that he was drunk, but a racist? No. The media blew this thing out of proportion. If someone peed on my belongings, I would’ve moered that person.”
One of Theuns’ mentors in the sporting fraternity at his former high school, Worcester Gymnasium, previously said Theuns’ best friend at school was a black boy.
The Weekend Argus tracked down the friend, Neo Sello, who refused to comment.
But a mutual friend of both young men said: “Theuns was my rugby captain and the stuff being said about him isn’t true, he never portrayed racism in any way.
“I have known him for more than five years and he was most of the time surrounded by blacks. He is my bra and my bra will not do that.”
The Stellenbosch University’s spokesperson Martin Viljoen said their Equality Unit has expedited its investigation into the matter: “The matter has been referred for a disciplinary hearing and this decision has been communicated to the relevant parties” he said.
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