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| CPUT Cape Town campus - Picture supplied |
Leaving high school and earning your stripes for university
is arguably one of the most treasured, exciting, and terrifying moments in any
student's early adult life.
The idea of leaving home and starting afresh in a new city
with new friends and possibilities often excites students, leading those
emotions to override the realities and challenges one may face once they enter
the "real world."
This is often the case for some students admitted to study
at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology each year.
The institution, which is one of the most sought-after in
South Africa because of its theoretical and practical offerings, finds itself stranded
with thousands of applications and limited capacity in both the classroom and
residences every year.
The "limited capacity" then becomes a catalyst for
"scammers" to prey on young, uninformed, and desperate students. In
2017, Velani Ludidi, a journalism student at the time exposed a syndicate that
was selling placements at the university.
Six years later, one would've thought that things changed
however, in January and February of this year, over 50 students posted on the "CPUT EFF" group on Facebook that they were scammed, and 80% of them were
first-year students coming from different provinces.
One of those students is a 19-year-old female who asked for
her identity to be kept anonymous when sharing her story. The female, whom we
call Mary, arrived in Cape Town with the hope of a prosperous journey; however,
after the university failed to assist her, she found herself spending a couple
of nights with a man she trusted and believed. An experience that will haunt
her for the rest of her life.
"When I got to Cape Town, I didn't have accommodation,
but I applied for residence, and my application was declined," said Mary.
"When I tried to call the residence department, they
told me there was nothing they could do and that I should look for private
accommodations."
“I looked for private accommodations, but they required a
deposit of 2000 rand, which I couldn't afford. I was then informed that classes
would commence soon and feared missing out, and that's when I took up the offer
to come and stay with the guy."
What makes it worse is that the "guy" mentioned by Mary is someone she knew and trusted from social media. He offered her a place to stay in Khayelitsha while she looked for accommodation and promised that they'd be sleeping in separate beds. Desperate as she was, Mary didn't think twice and took up the offer, but little did she know what lay ahead.
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| CPUT students sleeping in hallways due to lack of accommodation. Picture credits: Velani Ludidi |
"I knew the guy from Facebook, and he's from the Eastern Cape," added Mary.
“I told him my story and asked him to help me find a place to stay." He then came back and told me I could stay with him in the meantime and I'd sleep on the mattress, and as a first-year, I didn't have any other options to explore, so I just went and stayed with him."
"When I got there, he changed his tune and wanted me to sleep on the same bed with him. On the second day, he started touching me, taking his hand out of the blanket and touching my body," added Mary, with raw emotions coming out.
“I was shocked! and asked him what he was doing. He replied
and said, "I should relax and not panic," and he continued. He was
all over me and ended up forcing himself onto me; after a couple of days, I realized
that this was becoming the norm and started formulating a way out."
The events that followed forced Mary into a tight spot and
prompted a call for help miles away from home. However, she reverted to social
media and reveals how a fake Facebook account and a student housing landlord
came to her rescue.
“After the guy changed on me, I decided to start looking for
help, but I couldn't expose my identity because I didn't want people to feel
sorry for me or say things about me when they saw me on campus."
“I then decided to create a fake account and post on
Facebook, and people offered help, but with the little trust I had in people, I
ignored others. Then Sane (the landlord) reached out, and I got references that
he was legit, and he offered me a place to stay without paying any
deposit."
Mary's story is one of many uncovered stories at the
university and proves just how one can get into danger because of an unstable
system.
We also reached out to SASCO student leader Mandilakhe
Sobekho, who has for years witnessed students getting scammed out of their
money.
“This has always happened here at CPUT, and it's unfortunate
that as a university we never learn from our mistakes," he said.
“We always get students who complain to us about people
wanting money to provide them with accommodation or a seat inside the
university."
“However, I do think that with the use of social media,
students are becoming aware of these scammers early. It's up to us now to make
sure that we inform new students and make them aware of the traits scammers
normally use to prey on students," he concluded.
It's no doubt that the traumatic experience will stay with
Mary for the rest of her life. However, as we chatted after the interview, she
seemed positive and was adamant about taking this as a lesson she'll carry with
her for the rest of her days in university.
We contacted the university for comment but received no
reply by publication.