Any form of racism is condemned in the strongest possible terms, says NWU

Louis Jacobs, the North West University (NWU) spokesperson, says once the incident in which Rantso was involved became known, campus Protection Services was immediately alerted to allow them to commence with the investigation, even though the incident did not occur on campus, Potchefstroom Herald reports.

He said the investigation by Protection Services aims to clarify whether any student of the NWU was involved in the incident. During the Rag (Raising and Giving) period, there is an influx of young people to Potchefstroom from all over the country.

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“At the NWU, any form of racial discrimination is condemned in the strongest possible terms and any such incident is promptly handled in terms of the university’s disciplinary procedures.

“If an alleged incident is not reported, as was the case with the allegation by Rantso while he was still staying in Ratau, the issue cannot be addressed.

“The university is transparent in handling any such incidents and students are urged to immediately contact the police,” Jacobs said.

The acting SAPS provincial head, Lt-Col Adele Myburgh confirmed the incident of the attack on the Bult.

She says that during the Rag celebrations on Sunday, 4 February, police on patrol in the area found students fighting in front of Bourbons during the early hours of the morning.

“The police intervened and used a tonfa (baton) to separate the fighting students as a way of pushing them away from each other, not to assault them.

“After stabilising the situation, the sparring parties were far apart from each other and the police continued patrolling the area as there was a high density of students on the Bult.

“Another police van was stopped later the same morning and directed to a café where another fight had allegedly broken out. Upon their arrival at the identified area, no fighting could be found and the police went back to the initial complainant, who then redirected them to Virgin Active. On their arrival at the gym, they found a victim who had been assaulted.

“The police called an ambulance for medical assistance and an assault case with intent to do grievous bodily harm was opened by the police as the parties involved were under the influence of liquor and their statements could not be obtained on the scene. The police escorted the victim to the hospital. The case is still under investigation,’ says Myburgh.

In cases where members of the community are unhappy with the conduct of any police official, she says the local station commander can be contacted to formally investigate the allegations.

“The SAPS is committed to building safer communities,” she says.