Mcebo Dlamini found guilty of public violence

Fees Must Fall activist Mcebo Dlamini has been found guilty of public violence and sentenced to two years and six months with a suspended sentence of five years.

Over the last four years, Dlamini has been facing a drawn-out court battle in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, facing a range of charges in connection with the violent Fees Must Fall protests which began in 2015.

Dlamini made the announcement of both his conviction and sentencing via social media.

“As [a] law-abiding citizen, I accept the ruling. My legal team will issue a statement. Sofa sigijima,” (an idiom that means, ‘a soldier dies at war’) he wrote.

“Today marked the end of my legal career. Court found me guilty of public violence, thus [sentencing] me to 2 years 6 months… Suspended sentence of 5 years. I will take time to reflect on my future moving forward including my political career. I thank you,” he added.

The sentence means that he will face jail time should he break the law anytime within the next five years.

The Wits University student was arrested in 2016 and charged with violating a court order, public violence, theft, and malicious damage to property during Fees Must Fall protests. He was also accused of assaulting a police officer.

Speaking to journalists outside the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court in June 2019, Dlamini said that attending the court case for four years had been an exhausting experience.

“I don’t know how to feel anymore. It’s been four years coming here as we have been coming to the very same court since 2016. I think we are now numb. We don’t know whether we still feel pain or not. It’s really draining and exhausting because our lives are standing still,” he said.

“The people whom we protested with have graduated and left, so the people who are still on campuses don’t know us and they don’t know why we still come to court.”

In 2018, Dlamini embarked on a gruelling 56.6km walk from Wits University in Johannesburg to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to ask President Cyril Ramaphosa to release student activists arrested during Fees Must Fall protests.

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(Additional reporting by ANA)

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