Police called after students go on rampage
24 March 2009, 16:47
by Dasen Thathiah
Related Articles
Chaos erupted during a strike at the University of KwaZulu-Natal on Monday, causing police to fire rubber bullets to subdue the crowd.
The university's student representative council began protesting last week against inadequate financial aid and academic exclusions.
However, UKZN officials - who were locked in a meeting with student representatives on
Monday night - said the strike had possibly reached an end.
Police were called to the university after students became increasingly unruly, said police spokesman Superintendent Vincent Mdunge.
"Attempts were made to call students to order but they became violent and went on a rampage. Officers first tried to disperse them with pepper spray, but it didn't work. Rubber bullets then had to be used," he said.
Mdunge said police had not yet received an official report citing the number of people injured during the unrest.
"If officers had not intervened when they did the situation could have turned out a lot worse," he said.
A traumatised law student - who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being victimised - said last night she burst into tears when screaming protesters barged into an exam venue and flung stink bombs into the room.
"They were rioting upstairs while we were writing the exam. About five of the protesters came downstairs in the lift and threw these stink bombs into the room. The police heard our screams, but by the time they got there the culprits had already gone back upstairs," she said.
The protest was like an ANC political rally, the student said.
"All the protesters were wearing ANC T-shirts and carrying ANC banners.
"They didn't even want to let us into our exam venue at first. It was a sea of yellow," she said.
While the unrest seemed to have subsided for a short period, absolute chaos broke out at about 1pm.
"There were these loud bangs as police started firing rubber bullets at the crowd.
"Everyone was running in different directions. The protesters were screaming, smashing window panes and banging on doors, while trying to escape police," she said.
The violence sparked an urgent meeting between university officials and student representatives.
Trevor Wills, executive dean of students, described discussions with student representatives last night as fruitful.
"The students made their views clear and will report back to their constituencies. Hopefully, this will bring the protest to an end," he said.
The university's student representative council began protesting last week against inadequate financial aid and academic exclusions.
However, UKZN officials - who were locked in a meeting with student representatives on
Monday night - said the strike had possibly reached an end.
Police were called to the university after students became increasingly unruly, said police spokesman Superintendent Vincent Mdunge.
"Attempts were made to call students to order but they became violent and went on a rampage. Officers first tried to disperse them with pepper spray, but it didn't work. Rubber bullets then had to be used," he said.
Mdunge said police had not yet received an official report citing the number of people injured during the unrest.
"If officers had not intervened when they did the situation could have turned out a lot worse," he said.
A traumatised law student - who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being victimised - said last night she burst into tears when screaming protesters barged into an exam venue and flung stink bombs into the room.
"They were rioting upstairs while we were writing the exam. About five of the protesters came downstairs in the lift and threw these stink bombs into the room. The police heard our screams, but by the time they got there the culprits had already gone back upstairs," she said.
The protest was like an ANC political rally, the student said.
"All the protesters were wearing ANC T-shirts and carrying ANC banners.
"They didn't even want to let us into our exam venue at first. It was a sea of yellow," she said.
While the unrest seemed to have subsided for a short period, absolute chaos broke out at about 1pm.
"There were these loud bangs as police started firing rubber bullets at the crowd.
"Everyone was running in different directions. The protesters were screaming, smashing window panes and banging on doors, while trying to escape police," she said.
The violence sparked an urgent meeting between university officials and student representatives.
Trevor Wills, executive dean of students, described discussions with student representatives last night as fruitful.
"The students made their views clear and will report back to their constituencies. Hopefully, this will bring the protest to an end," he said.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of The Daily News on March 24, 2009
