“I will fuckin’ kill you, you black bitch” RACIALLY ABUSED: Sinethemba Memela says she was racially abused by two classmates and physically assaulted by one of them outside a Wits Law lecture venue this Monday.

RACIALLY ABUSED: Sinethemba Memela says she was racially abused by two classmates and physically assaulted by one of them outside a Wits Law lecture venue this Monday. Photo: Palesa Tshandu.

by Anelisa Tuswa

A fourth-year Wits student was allegedly racially abused by one of her classmates outside a lecture room on Monday morning.

“I will fuckin’ kill you, you black bitch,” was one of the threats made by a white student, according to Sinethemba Memela, a law student attending an Intellectual Property lecture.

According to Memela, the incident started after she “confronted” two female students during the lecture as they mocked the accent of senior lecturer, Dr Malebakeng Forere.

Memela said the students were commenting on Forere’s pronunciation of the word “patent”.

“I turned around and asked them why does it matters how she says patent, we all know what she means,” said Memela.

“Unnecessary black bitch”

Memela said she tried to close the argument by saying the lecturer had a doctorate and did not need to be “undermined”, but added that she heard one of the girls refer to her as an “unnecessary bitch”.

When Memela asked them to repeat what they had said, one of the girls responded: “I said you’re an unnecessary black bitch”.

The verbal attacks later escalated into a physical confrontation as Memela was pulled by one of her aggressors outside the lecture venue. She says the student “pinched my breasts, daring me to beat her”.

The girl, according to Memela, was “screaming and shouting, beat me. Beat me, will fuckin’ kill you. You black bitch”.

Wits Campus Control has confirmed that Memela has filed a report. Michael Mahada, investigations manager, said Memela has made an allegation of an assault.

“After the matter is fully investigated it will be forwarded to the Legal Office to consider taking appropriate action against the student accused,” said Mahada. Memela filed both a report with Campus Control and said she went to the Career Counselling and Development Unit (CCDU) for counselling.