KATLEGO MKHWANAZI
A student from Glaskas residence has allegedly been expelled from the University of Pretoria in connection with public indecency.
The residence is situated in Herold Street, opposite House Nerina. A resident of Nerina, on the corner of Lunnon Road and Herold Street, who wishes to remain anonymous, explains the student’s behaviour: “The guy would stand in his room, in front of his bedroom window, naked, and he would masturbate. He would do that whenever he saw a girl in the parking lot.”
According to the Nerina resident, a number of students have experienced similar incidents. Some students have seen him between two and three in the morning. “The students would come back from working late at night and see him, naked through his window,” says the anonymous source, who claims the incidents have been going on since May. “The girls who saw him were very traumatised,” says Christine Zietsman, Sport HK at Nerina. “Apparently the guy gets a kick from looking at the shock on the girls’ faces,” says Zietsman who has not personally witnessed the student’s behaviour.
According to Ms A de Beer, Nerina’s house mother, residents raised their complaints about the man at Nerina’s recent house meeting and the matter was then reported to the university.
“It had been going on for a while, but nothing was done, so it was easier for him to carry on doing what he was doing.” De Beer, who studied Industrial Psychology, explained that the man has a psychological problem and that he needs to get the necessary treatment. “These situations occur a lot in society. Therefore I didn’t think it was a dangerous situation,” she says. “But it’s a kind of situation the girls should not be confronted with because the university should be a safe and comfortable environment.”
According to Ms Bes Liebenberg, co-ordinator of the TuksRes student support team, the university provided counselling to the students who were traumatised by the events. “The case was reported but investigations are still in process,” says Rowan Watson, the manager in charge of the investigations.
Perdeby tried to contact Glaskas chairperson Vusi Maupa to comment on the incident but could not reach him before going to print. A follow up on the story will be published.
The university did not want to comment on the events at the time of going to print.