Durban - Although there were mild smiles and relief for the 24 University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) students on Wednesday who secured bail, they still spent last night in Westville Prison.
The students, arrested on Tuesday at the Westville campus, packed the tiny Pinetown Regional Court room as their case went on past 4pm.
This meant that the cashiers who would receive their bail money could not process their release.
The students were expected to be released on Thursday.
One student arrived in court barefooted, while another walked in wearing brightly-coloured socks.
Police had initially arrested 25 students - including the UKZN Central SRC president, Senzo Ngidi - but State senior prosecutor Phumzile Nyogonyoti withdrew charges against partially-blind student, Sanele Thethwayo.
The 25 men faced charges of public violence, contravention of a court order, interfering with police work, and were being linked to the torching of the six cars and the Senate building at the Westville campus on Monday night.
The students were represented by attorneys Edward Zwane and Pearl Lugomo, who secured bail at R1 000 each.
Nyogonyoti said the State had only verified the addresses of three students and was pushing for a postponement to verify the details of the remaining students.
He also told the court that students had provided false names when arrested.
These claims were shot down by Zwane, who said the defence was “vehemently opposed” to a postponement because the students were arrested at the university and taken to the university’s Risk Management Services where their details were available to the complainant, the university.
“The accused are subjects of a complaint by the complainant. They reside at the Westville campus and were arrested at the precinct of the university. This case is exceptional.
“The complainant has all their particulars in their database, so it is strange to hear that the State does not have the applicants’ particulars,” said Zwane.
He said the State’s attempt was tantamount to “delay tactics”.
Nyogonyoti told the court the students had not been co-operating and provided him with false names, but magistrate TT Buthelezi shot down the claims because the prosecutor failed to indicate which of the students had misrepresented themselves.
Buthelezi said: “I concur with the defence, this is not just a normal case. All of the accused are students and the complainant has all the information of the accused. The accused are entitled to a fair trial and I am of the view the application of the State should be refused.”
Lugomo said none of the accused had a passport, had a source of income and were not deemed flight risks.
Zwane said the students were randomly arrested and said the charges had no merit.
“They were arrested on Tuesday for an offence committed the day before. The State just swarmed them from the streets, they cannot even link these people,” he said.
Buthelezi granted bail and issued a warning.
He said students should not damage university property, partake in illegal gatherings and unlawful protest, and said they should apply to court for the right to protest peacefully.
“In as much as we sympathise with what students go through, students have no right to destroy property,” he said.
A student who was arrested at the Howard College campus on Tuesday for public violence, was remanded in custody for the State to verify his address and for him to secure legal aid representation.
Thando Masiko, who appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court, was captured on video by the Daily News on Tuesday as two policemen grabbed him and fired expletives at him such as, “f*** yourself” and “move your black ass”.
Magistrate Mamsie Mjwara adjourned the case to Tuesday for his formal bail application.
Masiko painted a distraught figure and told the court he had tests and assessments ton Thursday and next week.
Mjwara said the court would write a letter to explain that he was in custody and could not go to the tests and assessments.
She also noted that the university was closed and no academic activities were taking place.
Daily News