Black students who were subjected to shocking racist rituals at Stellenbosch University want the authorities to conduct an independent investigation, which would lead to the jailing of the perpetrators.
This week, the varsity’s council met to discuss the recommendation of an internal investigation that the residence be shut down. However, students who were put through horrifying rituals, speaking exclusively to Sunday World, said they wanted an independent investigation, which guarantees victims protection against retribution from powerful people inside and outside the university.
Racism and human rights abuses which took place at Wilgenhof and explained away as initiation and punishment rites at the varsity’s oldest residence, were exposed on January 27. This was after the university staff exposed two rooms during an inspection earlier that month.
Media reports exposed records and acts of humiliation, torture, physical and sexual abuse. These were meted out on students as part of initiation and punishment practices at the residence.
According to the report of an investigation commissioned by the university, one room known as Hool 88 was dark, menacing and appeared to not have been cleaned in decades. Covered in graffiti with names of former members of the student disciplinary committee known as the Nagligte (night lights), the room’s windows were painted black. With the door closed, Hool 88 was pitch dark.
The room, said the report, had an unpleasant smell, a result of a concoction of eggs, sour milk, and vinegar, among other things, stuffed inside a condom and then used to pelt students as part of a ritual known as “the golden handshake”. Other practices involving nudity and sexually inappropriate behaviour were reported to have occurred.
The other room called Toe Argief (closed archive) was a record-keeping room of sorts. It contained a casket, regalia and shoes worn by the Nagligte and various documents and artefacts dating back to the early 1900s.
The Nagligte wore black robes and pointed hoods during their night-time pastime of punishing students who broke residence rules, which include whistling in the corridors.
One of the students, who was 17-years old at the time, said: “As a minor, I had to sign an indemnity form that took away all my rights as contained in Section 28 of the Bill of Rights. My rights to be protected from maltreatment, abuse and degradation were contravened. So was my right not to be required to participate in activities that place my well-being, -education, physical and mental health or spiritual, moral or social development at risk,” he said.
“People must be held accountable for the role they played in Wilgenhof’s abuses and torture. Those found responsible must be arrested and charged.”
He said he arrived at Wilgenhof as an A-student but his marks dropped by more than 30% in his first year.
“As a black student at Wilgenhof you are already facing an uphill battle by being a minority in a majority black country. You get to the residence [and] you are exposed to white supremacy, racism, Nazi symbols, KKK (Ku Klux Klan) regalia and the militarisation of Afrikaner students,” said the student.
Another student also took issue with the university for cleaning up and repainting Hool 88 and Toe Argief after the media exposé. “What is in those rooms that they did not want to open it for public scrutiny?”
Recounting his visits to Hool 88, another student said: “I remember being overcome by a great feeling of confusion. Coming from a Christian background, all I could think of was, ‘Why am I here? When can I get out and when can I go home?’”
He said the selection criteria for Wilgenhof residents must be investigated. “You have Afrikaner students who are fourth or fifth-generation Wilgenhoffers. They also seem to be better prepared for what is expected of them at the residence,” he said.
The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) said removing the evidence could be viewed as an attempt to erase the incidents from history, thus silencing the victims and denying them justice.
Mental health and psychosocial practitioner at the CSVR, Charlotte Motsoari, said it is important for victims to be at the centre of any efforts made when engaging with such cases of inhumane acts.
SU spokesperson Martin Viljoen said the university took note of the investigation’s opinion on cleaning out the rooms. “But the university deemed it necessary towards sending a strong signal of breaking with these disturbing practices, also in the best interest of the new first year students joining the residence.”
At the council meeting held on Monday, which was chaired by Dr Nicola Newton-King, the council resolved to invite input from affected and interested stakeholders on the future of Wilgenhof.
