BEATING AT MILITARY ACADEMY CLAIM

The Pretoria News has reported claims that a gay student has been beaten at the University of Stellenbosch’s Military Academy in Saldanha.

News of the alleged incident was published on the university’s website last month. An anonymous student claimed that he was attacked by fellow students after they discovered that he is gay.

“That evening, they got me in the street. They started pushing me and hitting me with sticks and said that they do not want a ‘fag’ in the army… I had a broken rib and fractured arm when they eventually stopped,” the student wrote.

The Military Academy is a training unit of the South African National Defence Force and houses the Faculty of Military Science of the University of Stellenbosch. No official complaint has apparently been filed with the academy.

Derek Christian, commandant at the academy, told the Pretoria News that, “If the incident is true, we will not condone any victimisation. We would encourage people to come forward.”