Activists insist police have hitlist

Refuted charge resurfaces after student leader arrests

UNIVERSITY of Pretoria student leaders believe some among them are being targeted by the police, following the arrest of another activist.

Naledi Chirwa, 23, was arrested early yesterday and charged with contravening a court order and trespassing.

Chirwa appeared briefly in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court, where she was granted R1 000 bail.

State prosecutor Sipho Letsoalo told the court Chirwa was arrested because she entered university premises after being suspended and served with an order prohibiting her from doing so.

She told journalists: “After Rassie Rasethaba was arrested, he told us there was a list and that there were more people who would be arrested.

“There have been more than 500 arrests of students which are related to #FeesMustFall.”

However, Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane has denied claims that such a list exists.

Rasethaba was arrested on Tuesday and charged with two counts of public violence, one charge of malicious damage to property and another of trespassing.

The matter is related to an interdict granted to the University of Pretoria by the high court in Pretoria after he was suspended by the institution in August.

He is still in custody and expected to apply for bail on October 25.

Chirwa said she was not shocked when she was woken up by her mother, who told her that a policeman was looking for her.

“They came to my house at about 4.30am and told me I was being arrested for contravention of a court order and trespassing on October 10, a day before the national shutdown.”

She said she was taken to Brooklyn police station before being taken to court.

“I was sleeping with my son when they woke us up.

“It’s the usual thing, but my mother was panicking and didn’t know what was happening before we left,” she said.

Chirwa said the arrests had not deterred them from their goal of free higher education.

“What they are doing is

Rasethaba told us more would be arrested

aggravating students.

“They can’t arrest people for demanding their rights – that is an injustice.

“We want free education now. There is nothing that will stop us.”

Her mother, Joy, said she was confused and scared because she did not know what her daughter was being accused of.

“We are always being harassed. We do not have peace of mind.

“And it’s unacceptable for my daughter to be arrested because she does not have money to she said.

The 50-year-old said she could not afford her daughter’s tuition fees as she was a widow and unemployed.

“There is nothing I can do at the moment to help my daughter with paying for her studies,” she said.

Shortly after Chirwa was granted bail, another stu- dent leader, Amos Monageng, appeared in court.

Monageng faces charges of malicious damage to property, destroying essential infrastructure and public violence. He was granted R1 500 bail.

Monageng and Chirwa’s matters were postponed to November 25 and January 11 respectively for further investigation.