he University of Cape Town has launched an investigation into a Facebook post by one of its lecturers.
The lecturer took to Facebook and said, in a comment, that he had thoughts of raping his two year-old daughter when he suffered from depression.
He also said that he “wanted to kill her” and “had no love for her.”
“The University of Cape Town (UCT) became aware this morning of the social media post made by a UCT staff member on his personal Facebook page,” the university said in a statement.
“This post was shared with several people and soon attracted a negative reaction from different quarters on social media.
“On becoming aware of the post, UCT looked into the matter and treated it as urgent.”
The University also said that its executive has already met with the lecturer and a formal pre-suspension hearing has been called.
A formal process to investigate the matter has also begun.
“We have introduced due process to look into the matter and we will ensure the matter is properly investigated and dealt with,” the university said.
The lecturer’s post was condemned and labelled as unacceptable by the university.
“The content of the post is grave, unacceptable and disturbing, and completely out of alignment with UCT values,” the university’s statement reads.
“It is completely understandable that the post has upset people, leading to reactions of pain and offence.
“This is most regrettable. UCT has a practice to deal with issues relating to staff in a manner aligned with best practice in human resources policy, following due process in a compassionate manner that allows all who are involved in the process to feel that they are being treated fairly and procedurally, and to access support through the university if it is needed.”