Scores of students from Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) gathered outside the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court for the appearance of an SRC member accused of raping a fellow student.
Clad in black regalia, students in their numbers gathered outside the courthouse with placards reading: “One Bullet, One rapist”, and “No means no”.
Thato Maseko, the SRC president at the university, said they were informed that a sexual assault had taken place on Friday between a female student and a male student, who was a former residence officer and a member of the SRC.
Maseko said while the university had taken steps to suspend the student, students had decided to come to court to pledge solidarity and support for the victimised student.
“We’re very concerned that we still have such incidents taking place, but we are grateful that there is a dedicated office at the university to promptly deal with such cases, and raise awareness about gender-based violence.
‘Upon hearing of the incident, we convened a meeting and decided to suspend him immediately. We believe systems are in place but the assurance of safety can never be guaranteed,’ he said.
University spokesperson, Dr Lusani Netshitomboni, confirmed that the university had issued a suspension to the accused student, which effectively prohibited him from coming on to campus or accessing residences, even those leased by the university.
The suspension also prohibited him from participating in any university activities or keeping any form of contact with the alleged victim.
‘What is also going to happen parallel to the court processes, internal processes of the university in line with the policies around disciplinary measures will obviously be followed because the university wants to make sure this is resolved as quickly as possible.’
In court, Phumudzo Tshikota, 25, pleaded not guilty despite the court being told that he allegedly raped his ex-girlfriend by force and without using a condom.
The investigating officer, however, did not refuse his release on bail as he stated he had no previous convictions or pending matters and neither was he a flight risk.
As a result, the court granted Tshikota R2 000 bail, with the condition that he does not contact the victim or any of the witnesses in the matter.
The case will return to the magistrate’s court on September 5.