Principal hired ‘goons’ to beat us up – north college SRC leaders

Student Representative Council (SRC) members at the Tshwane North College in Soshanguve have accused the campus’ principal of hiring “bouncers” to assault them.

The alleged attack was said to have taken place on Monday, 2 September.

Record made numerous attempts to contact the principal and the department of higher education, science and technology but failed to get any comment.

“The acting campus manager Tshidi Mashabane tasked the bouncers to assault and remove us forcefully from the campus,” the student leaders said.

“We tried to explain to them that we are part of the management as students leadership, that is when they started beating us and taking us out forcefully,” said Soshanguve SRC chairperson Thabo Mabunda.

Mabunda said he failed to understand why the college would hire the men, but fail to pay the students their national student financial aid scheme fees and also to maintain the college building.

“The question I am asking myself is with what money these men will be paid. The college is always claiming that there is no money to pay students, but suddenly they have money to pay bouncers. We know the bouncers receive R1 500 per day at the campus,” said Mabunda.

Another SRC member Motshepua Mathe said he was beaten although he was 20 metres outside the school’s premises.

In a video taken of the alleged assault, Mathe can be seen lying on the ground, while three men appeared to be kicking him.

“The bouncers were hired by the principal and the acting campus manager was the one who instructed them to beat me,” he said.

Mathe said he was worried that classes were expected to start on Wednesday, while some lectures have not been replaced.

A case has since been opened at the Soshanguve police station.

“We went to the police station and opened a case against the bouncers. We also went to the doctor and we were transferred to the hospital where we found long queues, so we failed to be admitted,” said Mathe.

Police spokesperson Captain Matthews Nkoadi confirmed a case of common assault was opened and was under investigation.

In a previous article in Record, SRC member David Nxumalo claimed that the school was not properly maintained.

“The school has only one operating toilet for 2 334 students which we all share (men and women) and two of the four rest rooms that are operational are not working; however, every year, there is a budget allocated from the department to the college, but nothing is being fixed.”

Nxumalo said last year, campus management dismissed temporary lecturers for supporting students’ demands, while four others were suspended over allegations that they were sleeping with students.

“Management took 15 students to a hotel where they spent five days and four nights, paid for by the college to testify against those lecturers. As we speak, those lecturers were not replaced,” said Nxumalo.

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