Shock, outrage and support dominated social media as a former Unisa staff member was arrested for staging a naked protest at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Wednesday.
#GuguNcube trended on social media as video footage of a woman being forcefully removed by the police went viral.
The woman, identified as Gugu Ncube, carried a placard that read, “The police are used to intimidate, threaten and harass me. I was raped and sexually harassed.
“I am a victim of sexual harassment at UNISA. They claim that I resigned, I never resigned. They chased me away from work because I refused to sleep with my manager.”
In a statement, Unisa said, “The University has noted with regret and great concern the intention by a former employee of the external company that was previously sponsored by Unisa, called the Unisa Centre for Early Childhood Education (UCECE), Ms Gugulethu Ncube, to stage a one woman protest at the Union Buildings”
The university claims that this was not the first time Ncube “misconstrued” the matter.
Support, shock and outrage trended on Twitter as the video was widely circulated
https://twitter.com/Biophonik1/status/1105823166327386112
https://twitter.com/MelaninBunny99/status/1105862365998993409
https://twitter.com/RulzKay1/status/1105862194355417090
https://twitter.com/MsK_Majane/status/1105862190840627201
#GuguNcube is a heroine. You know why? She just single handedly debunked the myth that institutions of higher learning are professional and / or safe spaces.
They are not.
They're often very violent spaces. Especially for black, female and non binary bodies / people.
— Sam B (Sammy) #BlackLivesMatter (@BeynonSammy) March 13, 2019
Those who accuse this woman of lying or seeking attention…
Would you say the same if this was your sister…your girlfriend or even your mother? #GuguNcube pic.twitter.com/pydNgEAvQs
— 𝐋𝐮𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐚 (@LuyandaPotwana) March 13, 2019
#GuguNcube I say we woman must organize ourselves and be naked in solidarity to Gugu…I am in
— Shirz-K (@MashTR) March 13, 2019
https://twitter.com/_kanjalo/status/1105785507596902400