Johannesburg – A fellow student activist who was part of the 2015 nationwide #FeesMustFall student protests, which engulfed various campuses over the exorbitant university fees, describes the incarcerated Bonginkosi Khanyile, as a brave and uncompromising advocate for fairness and the downtrodden.
The 31-year-old from eNkandla was arrested last week by the Hawks at a Wits University student residence and is imprisoned at Durban Central police station.
He has been linked with last month’s looting spree in KwaZulu- Natal and Gauteng that resulted in the deaths of more than 300 people. Khanyile, together with at least 10 others, are facing prosecution for allegedly instigating mass looting, which the government has since said was an act of insurrection.
Khanyile is accused of unlawfully and intentionally inciting and instigating public violence. The state further alleges that he was the key mover in procuring persons unknown to the state to carry out violence.
Khanyile has had previous brushes with the law. In 2019, he was handed a sentence of three years under house arrest. In 2017, despite facing troubles with the law and writing most of his exams inside prison walls, Khanyile graduated cum laude at the Durban University of Technology.
He also holds an honours degree in Social Sciences from the University of KwaZulu-Natal He later went on to enrol for a master’s degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
He is a father of four. “You can rest assured that he’ll emerge stronger from this unfair prosecution. I started observing his unique character during our involvement in student politics.
“He bravely carried the aspirations of the #FeesMustFall movement on his shoulders and he paid dearly for it. Even under this cloud of trumped-up charges, he remains resilient,” said Philani “Gazuzu” Nduli, a fellow student activist.
Nduli recalls that during their leadership tenure in the EFF Student Command, Khanyile had advocated for academic excellence, saying student leaders should lead by example.
“That’s how his nickname ‘Education’ came about. He is currently studying LLB, and this shows his unwavering quest for knowledge and passion for education.”
On Thursday, Khanyile’s hopes of becoming a free man were dashed for a further five days after the court adjourned his bail hearing to Tuesday after hearing evidence from a sworn statement submitt ed by Lieutenant- Colonel Booysen who argued that Khanyile was a menace to society.
He said if released on bail he would pursue his “narcissistic objectives” by continuing to mobilise people to revolt against the state.
To read more political news and views from this week’s newspaper, click here.
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. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
