Two student activists have been expelled from Rhodes University for life for their “conduct beyond lawful boundaries” while protesting against rape culture, sparking an outcry on social media.
According to an SABC News radio report, two female students have been banned for life and may never be able to complete their studies after they participated in anti-rape protests at the Grahamstown campus in April 2016.
The protests escalated when a group of female students allegedly took matters into their own hands and dragged four students suspected of sexual assault out of their dorm rooms.
The expulsion decision was handed down on November 17 to two of the student activists, after they were found guilty of kidnapping, assault, defamation and insubordination, the SABC reported.
In response to the SABC, the university said the “sanction had nothing to do with the students’ right to protest, but that their conduct went far beyond lawful boundaries and amounted to common law offences”.
According to the radio report, the students intend challenging the guilty verdict and the sanction in court.
Meanwhile, a massive outcry has been sparked on social media under the #RhodesWar hashtag.