UCT SRC members face rape‚ sexual harassment claim

Two members of the University of Cape Town’s Student Representative Council have been suspended due to allegations of rape and sexual harassment.

UCT spokesman Elijah Moholola said the allegations levelled against the two were being taken seriously.

“These alleged incidents have been brought to the attention of the university and are urgently being investigated‚” he said.

The SRC named the alleged perpetrators earlier in the week – a decision which the university said was “not appropriate” as it was “contrary to the principle of fairness and justice and may actually interfere with the legal proceedings”.

The SRC decided unanimously to suspend two members at a meeting on Wednesday‚ after discovering that a student was allegedly raped and sexually harassed.

“The society that we live in is a deeply violent and patriarchal one‚ and as such allegations cannot be taken lightly‚” said the SRC.

The university appealed to students to allow the matter to be dealt with via the appropriate legal and disciplinary processes.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Students Command said that rape and sexual harassment were “pandemics which have and continue to infest our society”.