AfriForum Youth brings PAIA application regarding NWU’s investigation into alleged “sangoma ritual”
Soundbite: Yvonne Gerber (English)
Klankgreep: Yvonne Gerber (Afrikaans)
According to AfriForum Youth, numerous critical questions still exist regarding the incident of 13 April that was allegedly part of a “sangoma ritual” in the North-West University’s (NWU) Eikenhof women’s residence. The NWU has indicated in its feedback to the youth organisation last month that a “formal investigation” had been conducted and that no evidence for the allegations of a sangoma ritual could be found. AfriForum Youth is now pressing for extensive answers regarding this investigation in a formal application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
According to Yvonne Gerber, Youth Officer at AfriForum Youth, there are numerous gaps in the NWU’s feedback on this incident, which took place in the residence at around 22:00 on a Sunday evening and was accompanied by blood-curdling screams, according to residents. Shortly after the incident, AfriForum Youth demanded that the NWU launch a formal investigation into the events but maintains that the university’s response is inadequate and does not offer sufficient or reassuring answers about the events that apparently left several residents in a state of panic.
“If it was not, as the residents claimed, a sangoma ritual, what was the cause of the screams that residents heard throughout that night? The university has so far offered no alternative explanation for the incident despite the concerns that exist among residents about it,” says Gerber.
As part of its PAIA application, the youth organisation is demanding, inter alia, detailed information on the scope and methodology of the investigation, as well as a full explanation of the findings and conclusions reached by the investigators. Responses regarding the university’s findings on the reason for the screams that several residents made audio recordings of that evening are of critical importance. AfriForum Youth is also requesting information on the steps the university took after the incident to address students’ concerns and whether any follow-up meetings were held with the residents during which the findings of the investigation were discussed. The university is also requested to provide information on whether the NWU has introduced new policies or revised existing policies or guidelines since the incident to give recommendations for the conduct of cultural or religious practices in university residences.
“The NWU’s silence and lack of transparency regarding this disturbing incident raise serious questions about institutional accountability and student safety on campus. AfriForum Youth has a responsibility to the students who testified about that night’s events, and we will not rest until it has been called to account,” concludes Gerber.
