Arrested UKZN students to remain behind bars
A group of UKZN students who were arrested on the Pietermaritzburg campus at the weekend have reacted with disbelief after hearing they will have to spend another week behind bars.
The eight students appeared briefly in the city's magistrate's court today where the State said it needed to verify their details.
A lawyer for one of the students argued that the verification process should have started immediately after the group's arrest.
Some were arrested on Friday night and others on Saturday morning after a computer lab on campus was set on fire.
Police officers who were on campus say they had stones thrown at them by the students.
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According to police officials, the scholars had violated a court order obtained by the university.
Fees Must Fall activist, Xola Mehlomakhulu was among a group of students at court to support those arrested.
He says the students were wrongfully arrested when they were running personal errands.
"It's more painful to understand that these people are not involved in the protest action. We have to have the State claiming this is a means of justice. We ask ourselves - who does justice serve if they are not serving the back child or the African child. We are getting arrested for buying bread and for asking why are you brutalising students. Are we safe at UKZN?" he said.
The group will be kept in custody until their formal bail application next Tuesday.
@ECR_Newswatch Case against 8 UKZN Pietermaritzburg students postponed to the 11 of October
— Nushera Raisa (@nushera) October 3, 2016
@ECR_Newswatch Four more were arrested on Saturday after violence erupted on campus. All 7 are appearing for contravening a court order.
— Nushera Raisa (@nushera) October 3, 2016
@ECR_Newswatch 3 students were arrested on Friday night after the campus's computer room was set on fire.
— Nushera Raisa (@nushera) October 3, 2016