No court date yet for Reitz 4
2008-08-06 14:13
Bloemfontein - The four former students of the University of the Free State (UFS), who made a video that dumped the institution into a racial storm, will have their day in court, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) confirmed on Wednesday.
Communication officer at the DPP in the Free State Medupe Simasiku told Sapa the four Reitz men's hostel residents would be charged with crimen injuria.
The video sparked a national and international outcry. Among others, it featured black university employees on their knees eating food which had apparently been urinated upon by a white student.
It depicts a mock initiation of five black staff members into hostel activities and refers openly to the university's integration policy for campus residences announced in 2007 and implemented this year.
Simasiku said the acting director of public prosecutions in the Free State, Andre du Toit, had decided that the men - Danie Grobler, Johnny Roberts, Schalk van der Merwe and RC Malherbe - should be charged in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court.
"No court date has been set yet and no prosecutor has been appointed," Simasiku added.
The four women and one male worker who can be seen in the video would also testify in court.
The UFS closed the doors of Reitz at the end of last month as a result of the video, saying the building would be changed into a venue housing an institute for diversity.
- SAPA