Charges dropped against UKZN protesters
PIETERMARITZBURG: Five University of KwaZulu-Natal students who were meant to make their first court appearance in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday went home instead.
Their case was withdrawn and a prosecutor said this was because the State did not have enough evidence against the students.
The five were arrested on Monday along with two lecturers, Dr Clint Le Bruyns and Jane Quin, for gathering illegally on the campus.
However, the academics were released a short while later because an interdict which prevented students taking part in protest action or gathering illegally did not extend to them.
All were arrested taking part in a dialogue to address issues faced by students and ways to resolve them, which had been arranged beforehand.
Once the lecturers were released, they pleaded with police to “free” the students.
Police did not budge and took the students away.
Angered, other students then threw stones at the police, who retaliated by firing rubber bullets.
Yesterday, a group of less than 15 students waited outside the court for their friends to be released.
One said: “We are frustrated and angry.”
Another said police were arresting students for no reason because the more they arrested, the “better they looked”.
The students said all they wanted was for the vice-chancellor to meet them to discuss matters, but he refused.
The university’s head of corporate relations, Lesiba Seshoka, said it was clear from the letter sent by the students that the meeting was an invitation to respond to a series of demands.
Most of the issues referred to were being addressed by the university council.
He added that the registrar told the SRC president the vice-chancellor was not in a position to heed their request because this would undermine the council processes which were under way.
“Some of the demands raised fall out of the university’s jurisdiction.”