Police high handedness during students protest over hostel fees should be probed

The South Sudan riot police on Wednesday etched it’s name in infamy, after a group of it’s officers used brute force to calm down student protest at the University of Juba.

The unarmed female students were simply protesting the hike in hostel fees by the University’s administration, which is a right within the bill of rights in the Transitional Constitution 2011.

The use of brute force was uncalled for by the police, since they could have used other non-lethal means to calm down the protest.

The University administration is equally culpable in this affair for rushing to call in the police, and yet it could have held dialogue with the aggrieved students to resolve their grievances peacefully.

The result of this avoidable mess by those in charge of the university has left some students with broken teeth and others with serious injuries. Some students are still languishing in jail, for merely expressing discontent with the unfair hike in accommodation fees amid the prevailing economic hardship.

The officers responsible for this brutal clampdown on students should be subjected to justice. This will help shame rogue officers and restore the dignity of the police force.