UFS protesters released

Central SA

─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 09:45 Sat, 26 Feb 2022

Twelve University of the Free State (UFS) protesters have been released after they were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly contravening a court order.

This, after OFM News reported that the arrested protesters would appear before the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on Friday.

Protesting students had managed to interrupt classes at the institution’s Bloemfontein campus as tensions rose over a plethora of issues, including registrations and mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations.

A member of the Student Representative Council, Luvuyo Jacobs, tells OFM News the protesters were released without any charges.

This follows after the Free State National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Phaladi Shuping's report that the first three protesters who were arrested on February 18, were also released this past week without any charges.

OFM News previously reported that Free State police spokesperson, Thabo Covane, had said that the suspects were arrested for disrupting the commencement of classes among other things.

He also added that on the day of the arrests, police used stun grenades to disperse a group of protesters at the UFS main campus after they had warned them against disrupting classes.

Video footage has been doing the rounds depicting police shooting stun grenades into the crowd.

Meanwhile, the UFS’ Marketing and Communication Director, Lacear Loader, has said that the university has temporarily introduced online lessons again as a precautionary measure to on-going disruptions at campus.

OFM News