EFF, Wits in public battle of words
WITS University’s decision to suspend EFF members and the party has sparked a Twitter war, pitting vicechancellor and principal Professor Adam Habib and EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi against each other.
On Saturday, Habib took to social media to defend his decision to suspend EFF members from the university after a “SRC (student representative council) election debate on Tuesday was disrupted and marred by physical altercations”.
In a statement, Wits University’s deputy chairman of council, Brian Bruce, said: “The actions on August 18 created an atmosphere that was not conducive to free and fair elections, and which culminated in physical altercations. In light of the evidence, the majority of the council exco (executive committee), excluding the SRC, has concluded that it is in the best interests of the university that the recognition of the Wits EFF as a society at the university be withdrawn.”
He added: “Where there is evidence that students were involved in violence and/or threats of violence, these students have been suspended. None of these students expressed any remorse for their roles.”
On Twitter, Ndlozi told Habib: “Your hatred for EFF dear headmaster @AdHabb has turned u into a klein Hitler I see. Or some aspirant Verwoerd who ban people u disagree with.”
Habib didn’t bite his tongue either. He referred to the suspended members as “tsotsis”.
“Have some confused radical with violence, protest with Tsotsi behaviour, politics with gangsterism? This must be challenged!”
Habib soon deleted the tweet but by then it had already been seen by many on the social media platform.
In a statement, EFF acting national spokesman Fana Mokoena, said: “We call on the racist Exco of the Council of Wits to reverse this draconian decision they have made. We call on them instead to thoroughly investigate the said incident of disruption.
“We also warn the university to take issues of transformation seriously and resist their partisan temptation to suppress and ‘kill’ the EFF in that institution. We will not allow it.”
He added: “Universities are fertile grounds for freedom of expression and free flow of ideas. We cannot allow our members, or any student at the university for that matter, to be bullied and suppressed in that manner.”