He has been axed from his modelling agency, and now a student charged with assault and crimen injuria for allegedly urinating on a Khayelitsha taxi driver is in hot water with UCT. Djavan Arrigone, 19, a first-year BCom student at UCT, has been charged in the Wynberg Magistrates Court after an incident on January 24 when Michelle Puis Nomgcana was urinated on from the balcony of Tiger Tiger nightclub in Claremont. UCT is investigating the allegations against Arrigone, saying it would follow proper procedure and not hesitate to act. State prosecutor Nathan Johnson said when confronted by Nomgcana, Arrigone allegedly replied: "Im white, youre black. Im rich, youre poor." In a statement to the police, Nomgcana said Arrigone also told him: "I see nothing wrong with urinating on the top of a black person." Arrigone, who is also a model, has refused to apologise and was taken off the books of his agency Boss Models on Sunday. Boss spokeswoman Linda Bruchhausen said: "Djavan was released from Boss as soon as we were alerted to the incident. "We recently took a stand against any forms of racism, xenophobia or hate speech by launching We Are One, which is a campaign to encourage young people to contribute to society and to understand we are all connected as human beings. "Those who work with us know we would never accept such behaviour. The victim was humiliated and has not received an apology. On Monday, UCT spokeswoman Gerda Kruger said: "The University of Cape Town is establishing the facts and investigating the allegations. "Once the university has completed its investigation, it will decide whether it will take any further steps against the student. The case in the court is a State prosecution, and UCT will take serious note of the outcome. "UCT views the matter as of extreme importance, will follow proper procedure and will not hesitate to act. "Thousands of our students behave impeccably and when a few dont, we will, after we have followed due and fair process, act in the necessary way." Arrigone has pleaded not guilty to the charges, but did not appear in court last Friday because he had suffered injuries in a car accident. The incident was among 10 recent "race related" attacks in Cape Town suburbs highlighted last Thursday in the Wynberg Magistrates Court, where SANDF dentist Jan van Tonder appeared on charges related to the assault on a gardener with a sjambok earlier this month.
