EFF students must be condemned for violent clashes

IT WAS painful to see the death of Mlungisi Madonsela at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) on Tuesday. My heart is with the family during this period and I certainly know that the pain family members are going through is unbearable.

It was disheartening to see other students bleeding and running for cover on the streets as violence broke out after security guards clashed with EFF members who were throwing stones and other objects.

Most disturbing was to see a group of students from the EFF moving around with big stones – enough to construct four-roomed houses.

On the morning of February 6, EFF SRC leader Sesethu Godlimpi held a press briefing wherein an intervention that had been announced by the KZN provincial government was rejected. This was reported by the Mercury yesterday.

Journalists who covered another press briefing convened by Sasco on the same day were physically attacked by EFF members. They were accused of covering Sasco despite the fact that the same journalists covered the EFF press briefing as well.

It is important to note that yesterday, Acting Premier Sihle Zikalala, announced that a task team of MECs that was established by Premier Willies Mchunu on February 7, 2017, planned to meet with student leadership, vice chancellors and rectors.

This team was established through the Human Resources Development Council to assist institutions of higher learning to deal with challenges associated with registration processes.

The provincial executive council (Cabinet) after its meeting on Wednesday announced that this long-awaited meeting would take place today in Durban.

I hope that when the spin doctors, propagandists and strategists of the EFF do a post-mortem of the anarchy caused by their students at DUT, they will be frank to admit that carrying wheelbarrows of stones was an ill-advised gamble and an unmitigated disaster, not to be repeated.