AfriForum Youth lays charges against EFF on two campuses

28 August 2018  

AfriForum Youth on 27 and 28 August 2018 laid charges against the EFF on the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU-Pukke), as well as on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS-Kovsies). These charges deal with respectively the EFF’s remarks about Afrikaans on the Puk campus and the remark made by Sonwabile Dwaba, Chairperson of the Kovsies Student Representative Council (SRC), that white students and their heritage are no longer welcome at Kovsies and that the EFF has now taken over that campus.  

The EFF erected a stall at the Puk’s education campus and put up posters with remarks such as “fotsek Afrikaans” and “down with institutional racism”. AfriForum Youth’s Pukke branch asked the EFF about this, after which they indicated that the Campus Student Council (CSC) gave them permission to put up these posters. The concerned CSC member told a member of AfriForum Youth that she likes what the EFF is doing and subsequently gave them permission to erect the stall. AfriForum Youth’s Pukke branch immediately laid a charge at Dalena d’ Assoville, CRC Chairperson, and already received feedback from her.   

“The EFF’s behaviour is conflicting with the current language policy of the University and it is worrying that these types of remarks are made more and more on campus. The campus management must approach this situation with the necessary caution and act appropriately against the political party involved,” says J.P. Nel, Chairperson of AfriForum Youth’s Pukke branch.    

The remarks made yesterday by Dwaba clearly shows that he has a political agenda. These types of remarks create a lot of concern among white students on the specific campus. “Students feel that the political pressure on the Kovsies campus is increasing and subsequently driving them away and alienating them. White students also have a constitutional right to tertiary education, as well as the constitutional right to the protection of their heritage. These rights are however disrespected by the SRC Chairperson,” says Chantelle du Preez, Chairperson of AfriForum Youth’s Kovsies branch.       

AfriForum Youth is opposed against these types of remarks and will follow the necessary processes by submitting charges at the various SRC offices and continuously monitoring the process.

Become involved at your campus: Oppose this type of behaviour and make a real difference where you study. Contact J.P. Nel at 072 845 7047 for enquiries about the Puk campus and Chantelle du Preez at 083 294 9871 for more information regarding the Kovsies campus. 

Issued by Natasha Venter, Media Relations Officer, AfriForum, 28 August 2018