In a statement, the national spokesperson of Saftu, Trevor Shaku, says reports show that the institution is denying students - and other people who cannot produce proof of a Covid-19 vaccination - access to campus. Shaku says that Saftu supports UFS students who are protesting against mandatory vaccinations.

The Free State Police spokesperson, Thabo Covane, told OFM News that the three suspects who were involved in the UFS vaccination protest were arrested at the institution's grounds in Bloemfontein on Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Shaku adds that although the university had indicated that students can apply for an exemption or obtain a temporary permit to access the campus, some of the students have complained that there has been no response to their applications for exemption.

According to Shaku, this has led to students calling for either the review of the Covid-19 regulations and required vaccination policy or the complete scrapping of the policy. He concludes that the policy of denying students access to the university premises infringes on two of their constitutional rights, which are the right to education and the right to bodily integrity.

OFM News