Arson again at UKZN
‘Strike with us… or you will be dealt with’
FRESH protests at the University of KwaZuluNatal, Pietermaritzburg campus began violently this morning as students awoke to a smoke-filled residence.
The William O’Brien residence was set ablaze, while turnstile gates at the Malherbe residence were barricaded with wooden planks and doors barricaded with furniture.
Firefighters were on the scene this morning to extinguish the blaze. No injuries have yet been reported.
Yesterday evening, the Durban University of Technology (DUT) also came out, for the first time since the unrest started, saying they, too, were going on strike.
This morning, stunned UKZN Pietermaritzburg campus students said they had been woken up by loud banging on their doors and were literally dragged out of bed and “threatened” that they had to join the protests.
Last night a mass meeting was held in solidarity, attended by some lecturers and religious groups after 11 students who were arrested on Thursday for public violence remained in custody, having appeared briefly in court on Friday.
A blanket WhatsApp message was sent out to all students last night warning them that if they were seen on campus with study materials they would be “dealt with”.
The message read: “Please be warned that if you are seen on campus with a bag or books from Monday to Friday you will be dealt with… We advise you to strike with us or be against us… those who are against will be dealt with.”
The message called for a shutdown and boycott of all lectures, as UKZN management expected all academic activities to resume at the campus today. “We are so scared,” said an anxious student. “Burning things down is not going to help. Who is going to help us rebuild? This whole protest has just gone from bad to worse. The cause is lost.”
SRC president, Siphelele Nguse, said the students would continue to protest until their 11 arrested peers were released. The 11 were arrested during violent clashes with riot police last week.
“They… want us to continue with our fight for free education,” Nguse said.
UKZN spokesman, Lesiba Seshoka, said a plan to recover lost time had been developed, and that security around all campuses had been beefed up to alleviate further disruptions.
DUT student leaders last night said their protest was also against the National Stu- dent Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), the university and the SRC for failing to come to an agreement over funding shortfalls and students who met the means test remaining unfunded.
Interim vice-chancellor at DUT, Dr John Volmink, said a meeting had been scheduled for Wednesday with NSFAS chief executive, Msulwa Daca, set to attend with Higher Education Department senior officials.
SRC deputy secretary, Zama Mncube, said students would hold a mass meeting at the ML Sultan campus today to air their views and that they were concerned students would be financially excluded next year.
She said last night that all five Durban campuses – City, Steve Biko, ML Sultan, Ritson and Brickfield – along with the Indumiso campus in Pietermaritzburg would be under a total shutdown today.
Volmink, in a communiqué to the university community urged students to be peaceful if they intended protesting..
“This is clearly very concerning and I know you and your families must be equally worried about what the next few weeks will bring.” Volmink said they had not received notice for protest action, but alluded to social media comments that called for it.
“At this stage, I have received no formal notice from our SRC regarding student protest action. But DUT continues to respect the rights of students who want to protest, provided that it is done within the confines of the law. So, I want to urge all students who are considering protest action to remain peaceful, refrain from violence and to resist any temptation to damage university property,” he said.
Mncube said there was no court interdict against protest and they would shut down the university.