The perpetrator caught in the Stellenbosch University pee scandal is remorseful and “cried for days” after the ordeal came to light says a family member.
Theuns du Toit, who is currently on a break with his family, made headlines when he urinated in fellow student Babalo Ndwayana’s room and on his belongings at the Huis Marais residence earlier this month. He has been handed a temporary suspension.
Ndwayana has since received a new laptop and was also offered counselling, the university said.
The university also booked Ndwayana a flight home so he can be with his family and paid for flights and accommodation for his father, Mkuseli Kaduka, who came to Stellenbosch to fetch his son.
Kaduka celebrated his birthday on Thursday with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the celebrations.
He previously said he is still longing for justice and asked questions like why is Du Toit not in prison yet?
Du Toit’s uncle, Marius “Bankies” van der Bank broke the family’s silence in an emotional interview with the Weekend Argus on Friday.
Van der Bank said he was first made aware of the scandal when Du Toit’s mother contacted him. She was apparently inconsolable.
“Most of what she said was inaudible cause she just couldn’t hold back the tears,” he said.
“It’s a very difficult situation, very difficult.”
Van der Bank’s son, Adriaan, is the captain of Stellenbosch University’s first rugby team.
“Adriaan and Theuns have a very good relationship, I can attest to that,” he said.
Du Toit feels nothing but disappointed in his actions, Van der Bank said.
“He was crying because he felt so disappointed. We need to be supportive, what else can we do,” he said.
However, Van der Bank who described the scandal as terrible said Du Toit should be punished for his deeds. But it was not a racist act.
“Theuns is not a racist, his parents did not raise him like that,” he said, adding that Du Toit was heavily inebriated.
“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 m..red that person,” Van der Bank said.
He described his nephew as a quiet person.
This correlates with what one of Du Toit’s mentors in the sporting fraternity at his former high school Worcester Gymnasium told the Weekend Argus last weekend.
“His best friend was a black boy in school,” said the mentor.
“When I read the reports, I refused to believe it.
“The person depicted in those reports is not the same person I knew,” said the mentor.
“He was a quiet person, he got along with fellow learners and was loved by his rugby teammates. On the rugby field he played as a loose-forward and embodied the ethos of playing hard and fair ,” he said.
The Weekend Argus managed to track down the friend, Neo Sello. Sello did not want to speak on the record. But a mutual friend of both Du Toit and Sello spoke on the basis of anonymity.
“Theuns was my rugby captain and the stuff being said about him isn’t true, he never portrayed racism in any way,” the friend said.
“That's not the guy I know, he would never do something like that.
“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,“ he said, adding that ”the media got it all so wrong“.
Van der Bank said Du Toit was strong in academics.
“We’re taking this day by day,” he said.
No family meeting was held about the scandal as yet.
The Stellenbosch University’s spokesperson Martin Viljoen said it was made aware of the incident on Sunday, May 15 and immediately reported it to the relevant university structures for urgent investigation.
Du Toit was suspended the following day, pending the outcome of an investigation.
The Equality Unit has expedited its investigation into the matter, according to Viljoen.
“The finalised report into the case with recommendations was referred to the Office of Student Discipline.”
The Office of Student Discipline has commenced investigating the complaint following the Student Discipline Code.
“The matter has been referred for a disciplinary hearing and this decision has been communicated to the relevant parties,” Viljoen said.
The implicated student is given 10 workdays notice of the disciplinary hearing in terms of the provisions of the Disciplinary Code after which a hearing will be scheduled.
Dates set for hearings consider all students’ academic responsibilities, including exams.
Criminal charges were laid by the affected student.
Weekend Argus