'Kanya Cekeshe must be freed, whatever it takes' — Fikile Mbalula as Ronald Lamola promises to act

“We must fix this. This cadre must be freed whatever it takes.”

This is what transport minister Fikile Mbalula said after the Johannesburg magistrate's court on Monday denied Fees Must Fall activist Kanya Cekeshe leave to appeal against his 2017 conviction.

The court also refused Cekeshe's bail application, pending an application in the high court against both his conviction and sentence for public violence and malicious damage to property.

After the verdict, minister of justice and correctional services Ronald Lamola said in a tweet: “We note the dismissal of both the leave to appeal and bail for fees must fall activists Khaya Cekeshe by the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court.”

“We're in the process of urgently assisting him with an application for presidential pardon or other legally available avenues,” Lamola said.

Cekeshe has been in Leeuwkop prison since December 2017 after being sentenced to an eight-year prison term — three of which were suspended — for public violence and malicious damage to property.

He pleaded guilty to setting a police vehicle alight during a #FeesMustFall protest in 2016.