Fees Must Fall (FMF) activist Bonginkosi Khanyile appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday to face incitement of public violence charges related to last month’s unrest and looting in KZN and Gauteng.

The EFF member, who is known as the face of the FMF student-led protests that began in October 2015, was arrested by the Hawks in Johannesburg on Friday.

TimesLIVE notes Khanyile faces charges of incitement to commit public violence and two counts of convening a gathering in contravention of the Disaster Management Act.

Khanyile, who is no stranger to the law, has been vocal on social media both before and after unrest gripped parts of Johannesburg and ravaged KZN last month. More than 300 people died during the civil unrest.

According to the Hawks, Khanyile had allegedly incited violence through the use of social media and ‘other platforms’ during the unrest and looting in KZN.

Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said he was arrested at one of the higher learning institutions in Johannesburg and was escorted to KZN where he was detained on Friday.

The matter was postponed to Thursday for a formal bail application.

The state said it would be looking to oppose the bail application, citing that the accused had a previous conviction, notes a report in The Mercury.

In January 2019, Khanyile was ordered to pay a fine of R5 000 or serve a three-year prison term, suspended for five years.

He had been arrested and charged for public violence in 2016 during the FMF protests.

Defence attorney Masibonge Mathomane asked for the matter to be postponed, saying he needed to prepare and consult his client regarding the additional charges his client faced.

Full TimesLIVE report

Full report in The Mercury

Khanyile is not getting support from the EFF Student Command (EFF SC).

After initially threatening to stage a protest in support of him outside the court, the EFF SC did an about-turn, instructing its members to withdraw their support for Khanyile.

‘No branch of the EFF SC in KZN and/or in the country is permitted to attend... the court appearance in the name of the EFF student command,’ EFF SC national spokesperson, Xola Mehlomakhulu, said, according to a News24 report.

Mehlomakhulu said Khanyile’s participation in the Free Jacob Zuma campaign had not been mandated by the EFF SC.

‘The EFF Student Command remains the only reliable hammer and sickle in the hands of the poor working-class students and youth in SA. Therefore, it can never be reduced to a turf of ANC factional battles,’ he said.

Full News24 report