University of the Western Cape suspends student after woman knifed and left for dead

Ntembeko Myalo (32) made a brief appearance in the Bellville Magistrates’ Court on Monday after his arrest on Saturday morning. He faces a charge of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing his partner and leaving her for dead at the Belhar student residence.

The pair are students from neighbouring universities, Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Both are from the Eastern Cape.

The attack occurred only a day after hundreds of UWC students held a march and submitted a memorandum to the university protesting against gender-based violence (GBV), which they say is prevalent at the institution.

Students from both universities filled the courtroom as the badly injured Myalo stood in front of the magistrate. Fellow students assaulted him after they disarmed him before handing him over to the police.

A student filmed the incident on a cellphone. The video shows a man stabbing a woman multiple times while she is on the ground. Two other students plead with the man to stop. He charges at one of the students before pocketing the knife and leaving the woman in a pool of blood.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Police arrest Cape Town student after vicious stabbing of woman at residence

The woman is in a stable condition at Tygerberg Hospital.

UWC announced it had suspended Myalo from campus and all residences associated with the university.

The university said an urgent Vice-Rector’s Tribunal was called on Monday morning by the Office of the Proctor, the deputy vice-chancellor of student development and support.

“Professor Matete Madiba presided over the tribunal and she suspended the student after hearing and viewing evidence,” reads the statement. “The proctor argued that the perpetrator was a danger to fellow students and must be removed from all UWC-associated spaces with immediate effect.”

Myalo is due back in court on 20 November. DM