It follows the suspension of lecturing at Rhodes for the remainder of the week as students protest against rape on campus. The protests are being led by activists against gender-based violence and the Rhodes Student Representative Council (SRC) who released a ‘reference list’ with the names of eleven people accused of raping other students.
One student allegedly suffered a panic attack inside the back of a police van after being arrested (check out the video). Now the DA says there is “increasing evidence of excessive force used by members of the South African Police Service at Rhodes University”.
Zakhele Mbhele, the DA’s Shadow Minister of Police says the DA fully respects the Rule of Law, and does not support people taking the law into their own hands, or disrupting valuable learning opportunities for other students. “However, given the sensitivity around the very serious issue being highlighted, we urge the SAPS not to take action that will further escalate tensions at the university. The SAPS and the University Management instead need to work together to bring calm to the situation and find a real solution to what is a very real problem for many South Africans. We also urge students to act responsibly and within the confines of the law when highlighting this serious problem.
“We are equally concerned about the health and wellbeing of students who have been arrested, given videos that have emerged on social media,” says Mbhele.
An Eastern Cape, DA MPL, Marshall von Buchenroder, will now visit to Grahamstown Police Station to check on those students who have been arrested. The DA will update the media when more information becomes available.
