Screengrab of the stabbing incident at the CPUT on Saturday.
A 30-year-old student facing an attempted murder charge for a gender-based violence (GBV) incident in which a female student was stabbed has been suspended from the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
Video of footage of the incident at a private student residence in Belhar, Cape Town, which has gone viral, shows a man stabbing a 26-year-old Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) student while she is on the ground as two other students plead with the man to stop.
The man was arrested on Saturday. According to UWC, the suspect and the CPUT student – who is in a critical condition in hospital – are married.
His suspension was confirmed at an urgent vice-rectors tribunal called on Monday by the proctor’s office.
“We can confirm that one of our students, charged with attempted murder in a gender-based violence incident, has been suspended from campus and all residences associated with the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
“The Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Development and Support, Professor Matete Madiba, presided over the Tribunal, and she suspended the student after hearing and viewing evidence. The Proctor argued that the perpetrator was a danger to fellow students and must be removed from all UWC-associated spaces with immediate effect,” the university said.
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UWC condemned the student’s actions, saying there cannot be any “justification for such cruelty.”
“We wish to extend our thoughts and prayers to the family of the victim who is fighting for her life in hospital, and our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.”
UWC said over the past seven months, it had come together with CPUT, Northlink College, the neighbourhood watch, and the community policing forum in Belhar and Saps, committing to working together to address the safety and security of students.
“CPUT is our neighbour and students have always interacted and related to each other politically, culturally and socially for so many years. It is therefore important that this relationship assists in many practical ways to address the scourge of gender-based violence and other societal ills,” the university said.
A case of attempted murder against him has been postponed to the 20th of November in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: Female CPUT student rushed to hospital for emergency surgery after res stabbing
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