Sne Masuku

Sne Masuku

Members of the students representative council at the troubled Mangosuthu University in Umlazi say they are victims of "political discrimination" after yet another colleague was suspended from the institution.

This has brought to 13 the number of students who have been suspended. The student is alleged to have written a false name on the register when he was sent by his suspended SRC colleagues to fetch a letter requesting that they attend a disciplinary hearing.

The South African Democratic Students Movement (Sadesmo), which is aligned to the IFP, said the student received a letter confirming his suspension from the university on Tuesday. He is to appear before a disciplinary hearing.

The Sadesmo leadership and its members feel the university management wants to purge the organisation of its membership.

Nine of the 12 students who had been suspended from the university for five months were last week suspended for a year.

The suspended students this week made an appeal to the university, saying the sentence was unfair and that the university should reconsider its decision.

Sadesmo deputy president Ntuthuko Majozi said that when the SRC members were suspended they wrote a letter to the office of Education Minister Naledi Pandor asking her to intervene.

"Until today, the minister has not replied or intervened. We know that she did not reply because we are an IFP-aligned student movement."

University spokesman Sanele Zondi said yesterday he was not prepared to entertain any further media requests on the matter of suspensions. "The students know what to do, and these issues should be dealt with internally."