Wits University SRC president Aphiwe Mnyamana is accusing management of denying him the right to legal representation at a hearing.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mnyamana said university management’s behaviour is the continuation of an agenda to discourage student activism.
Mnyamana was suspended during student protests that rocked the university’s Braamfontein campus early in March.
“I view this not only as an injustice towards myself as an individual but as an attack on student activism at large, because the institution wins this unjust battle it has launched against myself,” he said.
“It will set a precedence for the next generation about creating conditions of free pass on issues of injustice and persecution of those who refuse to remain quiet in the face of injustice.”
The university has chosen to employ its own internal legal proceedings against SRC members, a despicable and shameful deprivation of the right to education, he said.
Mnyamana urged the university to give him a verdict with regard to his suspension as soon as the hearing had finished on Wednesday.
“If all the alleged charges against myself are sound, I believe that the institution has no reasons to further drag the process.
“It is only fair that I know about my future and responsibilities in the university as soon as possible,” he added.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
