KWAZULU NATAL - YOUNG UKZN STUDENT ALLEGEDLY RAPED & SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY POLICE

Angry students took to the streets outside the Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) on Wednesday morning chanting: “Rape must fall.”

Their protest follows allegations by a young student that she was raped by police and sexually assaulted in the early hours of Tuesday morning during violent protest action at the Pietermaritzburg campus.

Pumelela Nqelenga‚ a lecturer at the School of Arts in Pietermaritzburg‚ said staff were holding a silent protest against the violent disruptions outside the campus security office when they were approached by the student. Nqelenga said she told them she had been raped on campus when police attempted to disperse students.

“When she approached us‚ about four to five staff‚ we were holding a silent protest. She was standing alone waiting for an ambulance. She came to us and asked what we were doing. She walked very slowly to us. The more she spoke the more she became unsettled. She said police manhandled her and held her genitals.

“She said it was the police officer who was driving the police vehicle‚ (whose) registration she has‚ who raped her. At the time‚ we didn’t ask her too much details because she started to get upset the more she started to speak to us‚” said Nqelenga.

Nqelenga said she and other staff waited with the woman for the ambulance to arrive.

She said the woman is expected to report the matter to the police on Wednesday afternoon.

She said concerned staff will be sending a statement to the vice-chancellor and management‚ voicing their concerns‚ also on Wednesday.

Nqelenga said the rape was just one of many things happening at the moment.

“It is not just about her. The issue is that‚ while this mess is happening and there is so much violence around‚ it is the vulnerable people who were really getting it‚” she said.

“It’s the black women at the moment who are being cornered‚ molested‚ manhandled and being raped. We are only seeing the burning buildings; we not seeing them and that’s the real issue.”

UKZN spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said in a television interview that the university was aware of the sexual assault allegation.

VIA - timeslive.co.za