AfriForum Youth demands answers from UP about the 2024 student council

7 November 2023

In a letter, AfriForum Youth requests urgent answers from the University of Pretoria (UP) after it was announced that the UP withdrew the complaints against the EFF Student Command of the UP (EFFSC UP) candidates and that the UP will appoint a temporary student committee .

In their letter, the youth organisation asks what process was followed to withdraw the complaints against the EFFSC UP candidates and how this affects their eligibility to serve on the student representative council (SRC). Furthermore, AfriForum Youth also wants to know if the ex officio members of the 2024 SRC, who will serve on the temporary student committee, will include these EFFSC UP candidates. Prof. Themba Mosia, Vice-Chancellor of the UP, said in a letter that the temporary student committee will be announced on 30 November but there is no clarity on how and when the final SRC for 2024 will be elected and announced.

“AfriForum Youth is aggrieved by the UP who, at the expense of their students, succumb to political pressure from radical groups. It is important that parents and students take note of UP’s position, or the absence of a position, regarding the EFF Student Command’s hate speech and intimidation. Furthermore, it speaks volumes that UP also failed to fully answer our PAIA questions about the mandate of the security company on their campus,” says René van der Vyver, spokesperson for AfriForum Youth.

The UP’s SRC elections were very controversial this year and AfriForum Youth has been involved in this debate since its inception. The youth organisation has also been demanding for some time that the EFFSC UP, which constantly participates in acts of hate speech and intimidation, be deregistered as a student society. This is why AfriForum Youth expects a speedy response to their letter.

Issued by René van der Vyver, AfriForum Youth: Spokesperson, 7 November 2023