Share

'We will stop protesting if...' - UCT #FeesMustFall students

Cape Town - UCT students will only stop protesting if a "TRC" commission is established by Saturday and management commits itself to reducing fees at the institution.

Protesters were willing to open the campus on Monday, October 10, only if "phase one" of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission process for expelled students was established by Saturday, SRC candidate Mlingani Matiwane told a journalists and students on the campus’s Jammie (Marikana) plaza on Thursday.

The first phase would involve setting up the commission, choosing dates, and electing mediators to oversee it.

The campus had been closed since Wednesday, following altercations with private security guards on Tuesday night.

Matiwane said management decided to open the university on October 3 without an agreement being reached on the "TRC". Protesting students also wanted management to agree in principle to free education at the university.

Vice chancellor Max Price said on Tuesday the university agreed in principle to setting up an "institutional reconciliation commission". They could not afford to lose a week of classes so late into the academic year.

Why should expelled students receive amnesty?

A person in the crowd wanted an explanation for those opposed to the protests why expelled students deserved a reconciliation process.

UCT's #FeesMustFall movement spokesperson, Sinawo Thambo, said the destruction of property on campus was a reaction to the university’s “institutional violence”.

"If you think how Shackville was destroyed, that was an attack on students who were peacefully setting up a shack. So it was a response by us."

An amnesty process was needed to contextualise why certain things happened, and not to conduct a simple criminal analysis which absolved the university of responsibility, he said.

"It's not just for the students who supposedly burnt things out of nowhere. The institution will also be held accountable.

"Why did they deploy private security to peaceful protesters? Why did Max Price not engage the protesters? It will be an interrogation of why violence comes at an institutional level from UCT."

Private security, Open UCT

Matiwane and Thambo were critical of the use of private security guards on campus this week. They said they had a list of charges they would lay against them if they had the resources to do so.

One of the charges would be attempted murder. They claimed a private security official used a car to push a student onto the M3.

They rejected Price’s statement that most students wanted to get back to their studies. They said a poll he used to base his statement on was not conducted in any formal way.

On September 28, Price said faculty polls showed between 80% and 90% of the student body wanted to return to class the following week.

The two student leaders said the white majority of students would overlook the problems of the black minority. They said no buildings were damaged at the university during Tuesday night's clashes, as inaccurately reported by the media.

Three UCT student activists were granted bail totalling R2 500 by the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

WATCH this video:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 469 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 672 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.0%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.42
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.33
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.0%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE