Cape Town - Poo-flinging UCT student Chumani Maxwele will only be allowed back at the institution in July after he was suspended for two months on Thursday.
Maxwele, a fourth-year political science student, was suspended from May 14 until July 19 for allegedly assaulting a UCT staff member on May 1.
It is alleged that he racially abused the female staff member and assaulted her.
This week, Maxwele laid a counter complaint against the staff member, saying he was the one that had been victimised and racially profiled.
On Thursday, he maintained that the decision was politically motivated and that he was being victimised.
“We are being victimised because of the political campaign we had at the university. The white people are scared because it (our campaign) affects them. This is them fighting back.”
Maxwele, who threw human excrement at the statue of Cecil John Rhodes in March, sparked a series of protests at the university which subsequently resulted in the removal of the statue from the university.
He has since been linked to the Rhodes Must Fall Movement, a group of students that want to do away with “institutional racism” that they claim exists at the university.
Maxwele told the Cape Argus on Thursday that he was concerned about the effect the more than two-month suspension would have on his studies, but seemed more worried about the effect it would have on their campaign.
“Yes it will affect my studies, but it will also affect our campaign. But we have a strong leadership that will make sure we fight back for the black students’ dignity. The fight at UCT is a fight against the deep-rooted racism that exists there.”
UCT spokeswoman Patricia Lucas confirmed that the student had been suspended after a disciplinary hearing, following the incident which occurred in one of their academic departments.
“The suspension will be discharged upon either the acquittal of the student or the implementation of any sentence imposed on him by a tribunal.”
But any decision will only focus on the allegations upon which the suspension order is based, Lucas said.
She added that they regard the disciplinary matter as confidential and it was against their practice to release any details, including the name of the suspended student, but added that they were aware that Maxwele had released his name to the media.
“We presume innocence until proven guilty. Due process will be followed. We have asked the media to respect the right of all parties involved to a fair process, by not revealing their names to the public.
“It has come to our attention that the student has revealed the case to the media and is claiming that he is being charged because of his involvement in protest actions in the last weeks. This is regrettable and inaccurate,” Lucas said.
Cape Argus