More protests against former Free State students


By Ofentse Mokae
24 October 2009


The African National Congress in the Free State and it alliance partners will picket at the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court during the crimen injuria trial of the Reitz Four on Monday.

The four former University of the Free State students have to answer for their actions after making a mock initiation video in which women workers were humiliated.

Free State ANC spokesperson Teboho Sikisi says a protest march is being planned to the university on Friday.

This follows an announcement by new rector Jonathan Jansen that the university had pardoned the students.

Many have since the announcement by the rector expressed their displeasure in the university’s decision.

Following cabinet’s weekly meeting, government spokesperson Themba Maseko said Cabinet expressed strong displeasure with Professor Jonathan Jansen’s decision to drop the internal charges that the university had instituted against the students who humiliated the workers at the institution.

“The process that led to the dropping of the charges was flawed in that it did not follow the established norm of getting the perpetrators to admit guilt, to apologise to the victims before any charges could be dropped and to initiate a reconciliation process,” Maseko said in a statement.

He said cabinet would be the first among those who promote reconciliation in order to take our country forward.

“However, reconciliation involves both parties moving towards one another and must include some indication of remorse on the part of the perpetrators,” Maseko added.

It has been reported that Jansen stands by his widely criticised decision.

Comments

Lauretta Nakana said…
It is so sad that 15years into our country's Democracy we as a nation still hear of cases of racisim and prejudice behaviour.We would have hoped that the youth of today take note of the past mistakes that our history makers made-and take a step forward in the aim of changing those mistakes and becoming a nation of Legandary History Makers.The Reitz Four have left a bitter taste in many mouths and the sad reality is that their behaviour is still a high reflection on how far we still need to go as a Country before we can say we are truly Free and that the Struggles in the past werent all for nothing.The Reitz Four have made a mockary of the past struggles, hero's and heroins, and it is a shame that 15years on still feels like those days,months and years are still prevelant in our society today.

Lauretta Nakana
Student at The King's Court Christian School

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