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Students leaders have slammed the “arrogance” of the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) management as they bade farewell to Katlego Monareng at a memorial service on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Monareng was killed as violence erupted at the institution’s Soshanguve North campus over allegations of irregularities in the 2018 student council elections.
The third-year law student was allegedly shot dead by the police.
On Thursday, student leaders used the memorial service to lash out at the university’s management.
Sthembiso Ncube, former chairperson of the Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania (Pasma) said: “He was a dedicated cadre and he wouldn’t even miss a meeting. The question is ‘how did we arrive here’? I think it’s time for the entire management to do self-introspection.”
Students believe that Monareng was killed by the police and that the university management has neglected the Soshanguve campuses.
“Soshanguve still has that black legacy … comrade Lourens van Staden [TUT Vice-Chancellor] when you enter Pretoria campus you see a white campus. Soshanguve is isolated, we have been crying for a long time,” said Gift Mabuza, political head of Pasma.
The venue was filled with students from different campuses, TUT staff members and the representatives from the Pan Africanist Congress.
They sang and chanted to freedom songs, including “Sizophasa kanjan amaphoyis’abulalu Katlego” (How are we going to pass when the police have killed Katlego?).
Van Staden was booed when he took to the podium to deliver his tribute speech.
Students kept mumbling and interrupting him.
As soon as he was done, a student in a red t-shirt took to the podium to say the programme could not continue until van Staden has answered their questions.
PAC President, Narious Moloto slammed the police for Monareng’s death.
“Barbaric acts of this nature are not needed ... you have a right to march to the city, to the ministry of police to demand justice. There must be justice,” he said.
The Monareng family could not attend the memorial service because they were busy with funeral preparations.
Although the police denied shooting and killing Monareng, deputy police minister Bongani Mkongi confirmed on SABC2’s Morning Live that Monareng was killed by an R5 rifle.
Mkongi said the person responsible for Monareng’s death would face a harsh punishment and that the station commander was to be held responsible.
Monareng will be buried on Saturday in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga.
