Lectures at Wits University were disrupted this morning when protests broke out on the east campus.
Starting at the Wits fees office, the protestors were joined by some workers from the Matrix building and shops at the Matrix were subsequently closed. The university has confirmed the disruption via a statement which went on to condemn the “behaviour which is a direct violation of the court order obtained by the University”.
The protests appear to be part of the Fees Must Fall movement which is campaigning for free higher education. News24 reported that University of Cape Town (UCT) student activist Chumani Maxwele was part of the protest at Wits today. Speaking to the newspaper, Maxwele said the Wits protestors were “shutting down the university”.
Although some classes have been disrupted and the main library is temporarily closed, the campus remains open. Classes on west campus have also been disrupted and unconfirmed reports indicate that lectures have been suspended. The protestors are currently marching across the campus and according to the university’s statement, Campus Control is handling the situation while the police remain on standby.
A group of #Wits students chanting ‘Siyaya’ at West campus #FeesMustFall pic.twitter.com/i3volr8DLD
— MojoIOL (@mojoIOL) April 4, 2016
The Wits SRC have distanced themselves from the protest action, tweeting earlier today that, “We support protest action however we distance ourselves from all forms of violence by state, the university and students on campus”.
