A dagga plantation was found on the Tshwane University of Technology’s Shoshanguve campus during the eviction of students who were in contravention of a court order, the university said on
Saturday.
“We found a dagga plantation behind one of the residences,” said university spokesperson Gilbert Mokwatedi.
Police and security officials were on hand to control the exit of about 400 students after the university obtained a court interdict against the Pan-Africanist
Movement of Azania following violent student protests.
“[The plantation] was found while we were trying to clear out and make sure there were no people in the residences.
“It is incidences like this that we want to eliminate from the campus.”
Mokwatedi said that at a “place of learning” it was unacceptable to have these “criminal links”.
He said no arrests had been made.
Police could not immediately confirm the incident.
Teargas
Earlier, Mokwatedi said measures had to be taken to prevent the eviction process from turning violent.
“The security team had to use crowd control measures … like teargas, but there are no injuries at all.”
His comments came in the wake of accusations by Pan-Africanist Movement of Azania spokesperson Vusi Mahangu that the students were being “brutally attacked” in an effort to make them leave.
“Students at TUT Soshanguve are brutally attacked and assaulted by drunk bouncers and reactionary police because they resisted to be evicted from the campus,” he said on Saturday afternoon.
However, Mokwatedi said that the students’ eviction followed a number of interventions aimed at cooling the situation after violent protests this week.
After the university obtained the court interdict on Thursday, its executive management committee closed the campus indefinitely, citing lawlessness, hooliganism, alcohol and drug abuse.
Subsequently, hundreds of students were ordered to vacate the institution’s premises on Thursday afternoon and student representative council members were suspended, along with political
activities on the campus. – Sapa