Cape Town - UCT Special Tribunal has suspended Student Representative Council (SRC) member Mila Ziba from the institution for two years, following allegations of rape and sexual assault of another student.
Zibi, a labour and student services co-ordinator on the SRC, vehemently denied the allegations when they came to light and he is appealing against the verdict.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola confirmed that the Special Tribunal has passed its verdict and sanction in a case involving a member of the SRC.
“The respondent is suspended from the university for a period of two years.
The respondent has lodged notice of his intention to appeal against the sanction.
The university will not comment further at this stage pending the outcome of the appeal,” he said.
This follows a statement on Twitter, allegedly by a UCT student, claiming that Zibi had allegedly raped her on campus, days after he became the UCT SRC president in October last year.
“The incident started on the night of the constituting meeting of the SRC.
During the meeting another man made (me) uncomfortable ... Mila took me out of that situation. This made me comfortable. He came to my residence later that evening.
“We were walking by the Graça Machel Residence and stopped by the gym. I noticed we had gone to the very far end in the dark outside the gym.
“He was drinking alcohol and insisted that I must take a sip. At this point he proceeded to sexually assault me and then rape me,” the statement alleged.
Zibi declined to comment on Wednesday, saying he would speak on the matter in due course.
Zibi is also the political and research officer of the Provincial Students Command Team (PSCT) of the EFF Student Command (EFFSC).
EFFSC Western Cape chairperson Sikelela Msizazwe said they have noted and welcomed the verdict made by the Special Tribunal.
“After having been informed of the verdict by the EFFSC UCT Branch, the matter is to be escalated to the office of the Secretary General (SG) of the EFFSC for his perusal with the officials as the branch.
“The PSCT has no powers to expel any member of the movement unless the directive is coming from the office of the SG.”
“Be that as it may, we have engaged the member at hand, and as per standard procedure of the university he is currently appealing against the verdict.
“It must be noted that as the EFFSC, we are not in support of any gender-based violence in any form, and we have no room for perpetrators.
“So we will wait for the office of the SG to communicate to us the outcome of the matter with regards to the membership of the accused,” Msizazwe said.
ActionSA UCT chairperson Matthew George said due process had prevailed.
“We find comfort in knowing that due process has prevailed, and we extend our support to all students who have been affected by sexual violence.
“We stand in solidarity with them. This finding serves as a reminder that justice should be blind, and that those who occupy positions of authority must be held accountable for their actions.
“Moving forward, we hope to see a cultural shift in institutions where sexual violence is not tolerated and survivors are supported through every step of their healing journey,” said George.
Western Cape gender activist Kabelo Kennybarel said they were dismayed that the decision took longer to reach than expected.
“We want to send a very clear and strong message to the people who were defending the perpetrator … that it casts a dark cloud on the genuine problem.
“This clearly shows that without the situation being thoroughly investigated already the politics of choice defended the perpetrator which doesn’t make them different from the situation,” Rapholo said.
Cape Times