Security officers from GAP Management Security arrested six students, aged between 19 and 24, early on Saturday morning (11/10) at around 01:15.
Free State police spokesperson, Lt Col Thabo Covane, confirmed that the students were apprehended after allegedly throwing a homemade petrol bomb at a guard room near Gate 2 of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Badenhorst Street. “The police, together with crime scene experts, were called to process the scene,” he said.
The students are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court today (13/10). Several students gathered outside the court this morning in protest, while student leaders were also seen at the scene in solidarity.
UFS Bloemfontein Campus SRC President, Ogorogile Moleme, told Bloemfontein Courant that there is still no resolution between the students and the university. “We came here to support our students,” he said.
Students were also arrested last week amid campus unrest and later released on bail. However, Moleme believes that the latest round of arrests could result in harsher consequences. “If you compare the two cases, this one is more severe,” he said. “We are hoping that because they are students, the court may be more lenient.”
Bloemfontein Courant will continue to follow the story as it develops.
Warren Hawkins
warren@mahareng.co.za
