Counselling is being offered to traumatised students after a UWC student was captured on video footage stabbing a fellow student at her South Point residence at the weekend.
Footage of the incident, being shared widely on social media, shows the perpetrator stabbing the woman, who is reportedly his wife and a student at neighbouring Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), as she is covered in blood on the floor.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said a 30-year-old man was arrested and is currently under police guard in hospital.
“Belhar police registered an attempted murder case following a stabbing incident on Saturday afternoon at a student accommodation in Belhar, where a 26-year old female student was injured.
“Circumstances surrounding this stabbing incident are under investigation. The injured victim was transported to a nearby medical facility for treatment. Investigations continue,” said Van Wyk.
CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley said the university offered assistance to students who may have been traumatised by the incident.
“A female CPUT student is recovering in hospital after being violently stabbed by a male known to her. The alleged perpetrator is a student at a neighbouring university.
“The incident happened at a privately owned residence. The female student sustained serious injuries and has been transferred to Tygerberg Hospital for emergency surgery.
“She is being supported by CPUT management and at this stage our focus is on her recovery and well-being and notifying her family. The alleged perpetrator has been arrested and will await a court appearance.
“Therapy has been offered to fellow CPUT students who may have been traumatised by this incident, and we will roll out face-to-face counselling next week. We will also work in conjunction with SAPS to ensure a full investigation is carried out. Our focus is on supporting the student and the others who witnessed it,” said Kansley.
UWC spokesperson Gasant Abarder said they condemned any act of gender-based violence.
“At a time when UWC pronounced its zero tolerance for gender-based violence and communicated its condemnation of any acts of gender-based violence and femicide, it notes a disturbing report of the stabbing of a female CPUT student on 11 November 2023. It is alleged that the student’s spouse, who is a UWC student, stabbed her at her South Point residence.
“Early reports indicate that the SAPS arrested the perpetrator and the victim was hospitalised,” said Abarder.
He added that the institution will liaise with police and will take immediate action as soon as it received the relevant details of the incident from the SAPS and its own investigating team.
“Perpetrators of such gender-based violence have no place at our campuses.”
In another video circulating video on social media, a Sibanye-Stillwater employee can be seen posing with a body of his colleague after he allegedly stabbed him and cut open his abdomen.
Cape Times