All eyes on Maritzburg College as storm brews over pupils’ EFF link
ONE of the country’s elite public schools‚ Maritzburg College‚ is facing a PR nightmare after it instituted charges against three matriculants who expressed support for the Economic Freedom Fighters while in school uniform.
The three boys took a photo with one holding a shirt with the handwritten words: “EFF‚ our last hope of getting our land back”.
According to Twitter pictures of the charges‚ Maritzburg College has charged the matriculants with violating the Schools Act and told them they needed to appear before a disciplinary hearing.
The Schools Act prohibits “party specific activities happening at school during school time” and this includes campaigning‚ hanging-up posters or distributing political material.
The governing body of the college‚ commenting through lawyer Jaco van der Merwe‚ has confirmed the pending disciplinary.
The photo of the boys supporting the EFF went viral when former UK cricketer and Maritzburg old boy Kevin Pietersen tweeted: “@KP24 Ummmmm‚ @MaritzCollege — WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? Total disrespect for a once GREAT school! Are you joking?!?!” [sic]
His tweet has received more than 990 comments‚ with hundreds of people criticising him.
Many on social media have supported the pupils’ right to freedom of speech and argued that school pupils can have political opinions too.
Advocate Martin Williams tweeted that the country’s Bill of Rights gives school pupils the right to freedom of expression and political opinions.
“Sec 17 of the Bill of rights affords them this right. Constitution trumps schools act. Sec 36 in my opinion does not limit their right.”
The Sunday Times reported yesterday that the KwaZulu-Natal education department wanted a fullscale investigation into allegations of racism at the school.
The EFF issued a statement slamming the school and saying it would support the pupils‚ who it says are about to write matric exams.
The party expressed its unconditional support for the learners .
“We reject this as pure apartheid‚ Nazi and colonial thinking on the part of the school.
“In our democracy‚ there is no bylaw‚ rule or school code of conduct that must be inconsistent with our supreme law of the land‚ the Constitution. Maritzburg High‚ by charging our young fighters‚ is in direct violation of the Constitution. It is offending their rights to freedom of expression.
“The young men have not killed anyone‚ stolen anything or caused any physical harm. They have simply expressed an idea and by suppressing them‚ the school is not only anti-intellectual but also scared of the truth … The school is dancing to white supremacist tunes‚ thus reproducing itself as hostile to our democratic order.
“The EFF wants to send a strong warning to Maritzburg High that we are ready to defend the democratic rights of our supporters with any revolutionary means possible. We demand that they drop their reactionary and unconstitutional charges with immediate effect or face the full might of our mass power.”
Twitter users have noted that the Pietersen tweet had caused huge drama.
Mninawa Ntloko? @ntlokom tweeted: “This Kevin Pietersen has succeeded in turning this debacle into a PR nightmare for Maritzburg College! Now the whole country is watching.”
Pietersen was asked by Maritzburg College to delete the tweet. He refused to do so.
While the saga rages on‚ Pietersen appears to be oblivious to it and is posting photos of himself enjoying the beaches in the Maldives and drinking champagne.
KwaZulu-Natal department of education spokesman’s Kwezi Mthethwa said the department was investigating.
If the charge sheet‚ which the EFF has responded to‚ is accurate‚ one of the charges is that the photo is considered to be racial or racially charged.
The photo was considered a threat to learners‚ educators and other members of staff. — DDC