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Wits University SRC president Aphiwe Mnyamana attended a mediation process on Wednesday.
Aphiwe Mnyamana/ Instagram
- Suspended Wits University SRC president Aphiwe Mnyamana hopes the institution will pardon him from allegations emanating from student protests earlier this year.
- He spoke to News24 on Wednesday ahead of the mediation process in the matter.
- Wits University spokesperson Shirona Patel said the mediation process was separate from the disciplinary proceedings.
Suspended Wits University SRC president Aphiwe Mnyamana hopes the mediation process with student leaders will "exonerate" him from allegations emanating from student protests earlier this year.
Speaking to News24 from his home in Soweto before attending the mediation process on Wednesday, Mnyamana said he was facing several allegations, which he did not wish to elaborate on.
The allegations emanate from student protests earlier this year. Mnyamana said he hoped the university would pardon him so he could continue his postgraduate studies.
He lamented losing access to the university premises, his student accommodation and missing several weeks of his postgraduate studies pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing.
He said he lived in an RDP house with eight family members, which was not conducive to his studies. Mnyamana said he could not attend in-person classes while he was suspended.
This is to stop me from protesting and to make an example for the next SRC president to say, 'If anyone dares challenge Wits University, then they will face the same reality'. If they are genuine with their charges, they should charge everyone involved in the protest. I am suffering. Even the lecturers have said there is no way they can teach one person online while the classes are conducted physically.
Students protested against the exclusion of those who had not paid outstanding fees and a lack of accommodation, among other grievances. News24 reported that the institution had agreed to enter a mediation process with the SRC last month.
The university also said it had committed R150 million for bursaries and scholarships for the 2023 academic year. It added that it had administered R1.6 billion in financial aid, scholarships and bursaries to more than 26 000 students in 2022.
Mnyamana said he would not be allowed to attend his graduation next week. He said this was unfair, considering the charges against him related to his conduct as a postgraduate student.
READ | Wits management agree to mediation process with SRC amid student protests
"I was supposed to graduate on 21 April, but I will not because of this legal battle. I told them my certificate of good conduct was clear for an undergrad degree, not my honours degree," he said.
Wits University spokesperson Shirona Patel told News24 the mediation process was with the broader SRC leadership and was separate from the university's disciplinary processes.
Patel previously told News24 that Mnyamana was the subject of disciplinary and suspension processes, which were separate from each other and the mediation process.
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