Fees activists want pardon
DESPITE committing to working with the office of Justice Minister Michael Masutha, the #FeesMustFall campaign activists insist that President Cyril Ramaphosa should grant general amnesty to all affected students.
Briefing the media in Pretoria yesterday, the campaign’s Bonginkosi Khanyile said they were willing to work with Masutha in ensuring all their issues were resolved as speedily as possible.
Masutha said his office would start working with a delegation of #FeesMustFall activists to make a formal application for those prosecuted and convicted wanting to be considered for pardon.
Masutha said he was acting on the instructions of Ramaphosa to interact with the students, who had been camping out at the Union Buildings since last week, demanding amnesty.
Khanyile said the students were willing to work with the minister to make a list of all affected students who should be given amnesty, but their participation should not be misinterpreted as an agreement with Masutha.
He said they sought a presidential pardon for all students, but Ramaphosa and Masutha were not keen on that and instead wanted an assessment of every individual case against every affected student.
Khanyile said this was the reason he had refused to sit on the panel with Masutha during a briefing on the matter.
He said the minister had given them a lecture about the Constitution, which they did not want to hear; all they wanted was a decision about amnesty for all students.
Masutha said he met students at the Unions Building on Friday following prior engagements with another group that had marched to the Presidency in Tuynhuys, Cape Town, last Wednesday.
Both groups, he said, wanted pardons from the president.
“On both occasions, I pointed out that in line with respect for the principles of separation of powers and the rule of law, the executive branch of government had neither the mandate nor the inclination to favour any person or group of people with a specific or general reprieve outside the existing Constitution and legal framework.
“The criminal justice system provides avenues for various alternatives to outright criminal prosecution which include diversion, mediation and various forms of restorative justice mechanisms,” Khanyile said.
“Section 84 (2) J of the Constitution of the Republic confers on the president, among others, the power to grant pardon or reprieve to offenders and remit any fines, penalties or forfeitures.”
However, Khanyile said that although they were equally committed to working with Masutha, the minister had not made clear commitments regarding their demands.
He said students that would work with Masutha would still want Ramaphosa to grant general amnesty and pardon to all #FeesMustFall activists.
“We say this primarily because all that happened during the struggle of #FeesMustFall was a result of the conditions on the ground.
“Young people in South African are not violent… if they were, South Africa would have been in ashes because we are in a situation where we remain neglected by our government.” – Additional reporting: Mayibongwe Maqhina