Mzuni suspends 72 students for rioting
Mzuzu University (Mzuni) Friday suspended 75 students for causing mayhem on campus following night riots that happened Monday over delayed processing of stationery allowances.
The students, all on government sponsorship, were sent packing from to Mzuni campus Saturday “pending disciplinary hearing.”
Registrar Vyson Jedegwa wrote in a statement seen by Nyasa Times that the “suspension is as a result of the misconduct which this group of students perpetrated on 28th and 29th April 2014.”
According to Jedegwa, the students have been suspended based on thirteen counts including “usurping and by-passing the authority and powers of the Mzuzu University Student Representative Council (MUSREC) which is responsible for all students’ affairs, by organizing illegal meetings and demonstrations on campus.”
The students are further accused of being “on rampage on campus and scaring other students around campus include those in the Library as well as stealing goods from vendors outside the main gate.”
According to a statement by Jedegwa, the acts were tantamount to terrorizing and holding the University hostage.
“The suspension is also in accordance with the rules and regulations stipulated and provided for in the Mzuni Students Handbook under Subsection 2.2 which states that “Where a group of students forms a common intention to commit acts and/assist each other in their plot to breach the rules and regulations by one or more of their number, each member shall be held to have committed an offence. Where there is adequate evidence against the group it will be disciplined collectively,” reads part of the statement.
It adds that each of the students must collect, from the Central Registry, and complete Students Clearance Form and submit the Form at the Porter’s Lodge by 12:00 noon on Saturday 3rd May, 2014.
The students have been further warned not to attend any more classes.
In an interview with Nyasa Times MUSREC president Nyozomo Gondwe said he was as well shocked by the development, saying he was still consulting on way forward.
“We will convene on Monday and map our way forward,” he told Nyasa Times.
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