EFF littering video: What we know about the student who defied the bullies

A protest at the University of Free State turned ugly last week, but it wasn’t a physical confrontation that left people up in arms: Two people – believed to be members of the EFF Student Command – routinely humiliated a fellow learner who was trying to clean up the campus, as they removed rubbish from the bin he was using.

Strike action at the institution – related to the outsourcing of campus workers – lead to tensions boiling over in FS: For context, you can catch up on the story we broke last night and view the now-viral video here:

This is racism. EFF thou … Im shook
This is wrong
This is abuse #tut #tutstrike @eNCA @SABCNewsOnline #ArrestMampintshaNow #ArrestMampintsha #wodumo #eNCANow #MampintshaMustFall pic.twitter.com/Y7C778MeMW

— Nondumiso Gumede (@nonnystoned) March 4, 2019

The abuse sent shockwaves across the country, with many EFF members denouncing the actions of the two women. However, the young lad on the receiving end of the abuse has been praised for his positive attitude and his refusal to give in. But who exactly is our cleanly student?

Who is the student in the EFF littering video?

Social media sleuths have identified the “Good Samaritan” as Eckhard Binding, a learner at UFS. He eventually came forward late on Monday night, before speaking to local media on Tuesday morning. He’s initially from Pretoria and is also said to be a representative of AfriForum’s Student Council.

Binding is an avid cyclist and competes in numerous domestic competitions. He and his family have also spent some time in the south of England, according to his Facebook page.

Offers pour in for Eckhard Binding

His perseverance and good will looks like it will be rewarded, too. When the video gained traction on social media, floods of commenters expressed their desire to help Binding with his tuition fees. One user – Osman Ebrahim – offered the young man a bursary to study in “any field of his choice“.

The offers didn’t stop there, either. At least five separate social media users reacting to the EFF littering video have offered to send Eckhard Binding payments of R5 000 – R10 000, to help him complete his studies: Say what you like about South Africa, but when someone is being victimised, we tend to come through for each other.

• We reached out to Eckhard for comment, but haven’t yet received a response.