PRETORIA – 5000 Wits and UJ university students took buses to attend the #feesMustfall protest that saw thousands of tertiary students march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 23 October.
When the Wits and UJ students arrived at the Union Buildings Tshwane University of Technology and University of Pretoria students were causing havoc inside the garden of the UB. Police presence was very heavy and tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades were thrown by police at the protesting students.
Pretoria students burned portable public toilets and threw rocks and stones at police whilst their Joburg counterparts retreated to the corner of the road to plan their next move.
Pretoria students went on a rampage tearing a hole in the fence and continuously pelting police with rocks. A portable toilet was burnt by the fence where the police were standing as students attempted to cross over.
Many students were singing struggle songs – the favourite song sung evoked the name of Solomon Mahlangu.
Parents, lecturers, struggle heroes and a few celebrities could be seen outside the UB pledging their support to students.
@NewsNMT #FeesMustFall Ahmad Kathadra is at UB as more shots are fired and student pelt SAPS car with stones pic.twitter.com/c7Hw1X3k4s
— Gaahele M (@Treaka) October 23, 2015
Joburg students were the only students to have coloured arm bands to make themselves identifiable. Food and water was given to students by Gift of the Givers but was interrupted when police members filled the UB with a final surge of tear gas that saw students running into the road. Journalist were caught in the crossfire between police and students who were running around in panic as tear gas filled the air.
@NewsNMT #FeesMustFall Student get ashma attack after being tear gased by police
— Gaahele M (@Treaka) October 23, 2015
Wits students marched around the UB and then proceeded to congregate inside the UB to allow student leaders to announce the 0 per cent fees increment as announced by President Jacob Zuma but was stopped by a halo of stun grenades and rubber bullets.
@NewsNMT #FeesMustFall UB covered with smoke as cgais reigns and more shots are fired pic.twitter.com/lAXdTMmjXJ
— Gaahele M (@Treaka) October 23, 2015
@NewsNMT #FeesMustFall several students taken to hospital at UB
— Gaahele M (@Treaka) October 23, 2015
After the march Pretoria students then attempted to stop the Wits buses from leaving threatening to burn the buses stating that unless they continued to protest they would be held prisoner.
Two cars were torched by the students and a bottle store was looted in the protest and police struggled to quell the last group of students who refused to leave the UB throwing stones at police chanting that they wanted to hear President Zuma. President Zuma was unable to address students due to the violence carried out by the protesting students. Wits and UJ students were escorted back to their Braamfontein and Auckland Park campuses respectively by the buses that
brought.
