As most of you know by now Lebogang Masinga was a fellow Stellenbosch University student who was attacked and assaulted on Tygerberg Medical Campus by a final year medical student. The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning. Lebo went to the South African Police Service to open a case against him on the same day as the incident.

On Sunday, students mobilised to help her get assistance from the residence and University management in order to evict the alleged perpetrator from a campus residential building. On Sunday afternoon a meeting took place between Hippocrates residence heads and the students who mobilised on what actions have been taken to help Lebo, as well as what actions would be taken to make sure that all other students were safe.

At this time the alleged perpetrator was still in the residence and Lebo had still not been contacted by residence management to ensure her safety and well-being.

The South African Police Service eventually came to "evict" the alleged perpetrator. It is extremely important to note that Campus Security did not act to remove the alleged perpetrator from campus. Their reasoning for inaction was that the case had been taken to the South African Police Force, which meant that it was outside of their jurisdiction.  

As of Thursday 9 July, the alleged perpetrator was arrested. At the time of writing Lebo had still not received much support from the University, but still maintains the full support of the Stellenbosch University Anti-GBV movement.

We as a student body must meet inaction with action, and indifference with compassion. Let us not now become silent, but let us bolster our voices to ensure that justice is served.

Amnesty Stellenbosch recently began an initiative started by our Outreach Coordinator aimed at helping those who lost their homes in the Masiphumelele fires in Cape Town. These fires destroyed more than 1000 homes, leaving an estimated 4000 residents without a place to sleep, just days before Christmas. The fires did not just destroy residents homes, but also much of their personal belongings, leaving many without food and clothes.

Amnesty Stellenbosch started a campaign to help, and in just a couple of weeks, we managed to contribute a few bags of clothing thanks to the support of our members. Amnesty Stellenbosch is also touched by the outpouring of support from members of the Cape Town community at large. Amnesty Stellenbosch will continue collecting donations up until the end of January, and we ask all our members and supporters to donate towards all efforts trying to bring relief to the residents affected by these devastating fires.