By Anita Dangazele
- Two buildings at the Alice campus and one in East London were torched during protests over student council changes and calls for the vice-chancellor to step down.
- The ANCYL says students deny starting the fires, claiming police flares used to disperse crowds may have caused them.
The University of Fort Hare has shut down all campuses after violent protests led to several buildings being torched on Wednesday night.
At the Alice campus, the administration block and student affairs office were burned, while in East London, part of the Education Department building was also damaged by fire.
The unrest began after management announced plans to appoint an interim student representative council (SRC) while changing the rules for student leadership elections.
Students are also calling for Vice-Chancellor Sakhela Buhlungu to resign, accusing him of failing to deal with corruption and mismanagement at the university.
In a statement, Buhlungu said the violence had endangered lives and disrupted learning. “The actions of a few have put the safety of the entire university community at risk,” he said. “The destruction of property shows we are dealing with more than student protests — there are signs of organised criminal acts.”
The university obtained a court order from the Eastern Cape High Court in Bhisho to stop illegal protests, but demonstrations continued.
Higher Education Deputy Minister Buti Manamela said he had asked the university to create a plan to protect lives and property.
Management ordered students to leave campus by 5pm on Thursday.
ANCYL provincial spokesperson Siviwe Ngaba said on Thursday that students have denied setting the buildings on fire.
“They are denying any form of arson coming from their side and that the allegation is that the flares that were used, some of them, to disperse the crowd, are what is causing the fires,” said Ngaba.
Pictured above: The University of Fort Hare’s main entrance in Alice.
Image source: Facebook
