My experience at the #FeesMustFall protest

On the morning of 4 October I arrived early at Wits University, optimistic that I would only be there an hour, at most.

It was fairly quiet and it looked like the university’s reopening was going according to plan. Police were on campus and were already in their protective gear, ready to quell any protest.

When I arrived outside the Great Hall, I was greeted by about 50 students who were standing in a circle singing struggle songs peacefully.

In a matter of minutes, the police approached the protesters who started retreating for fear of being arrested – that is when the first stun grenade was thrown by police. To my shock, it landed a metre away from me as exploded with a loud bang.

I gathered myself and ran after the students, who the police were chasing as more stun grenades were thrown all around me. The students hid inside the Matrix building, blocking police from entering. One student shouted at police to return her scarf.

Returning back to the stairs of the Great Hall there was silence as the smoke from the stun grenades cleared. One lecturer yelled from the stairs that the university was a place of learning.

I hung around for a while waiting to see if something else would happen as many journalists started to leave, convinced that the mayhem was over. I decided to take a look around and was met by a colleague who said, “Go to the church the students are meeting there.”

I walked to the church which is on the edge of the East side campus and the small number of students who had started protesting in the morning had now grown to hundreds. The students would not allow any media inside while they strategised their next move.

They then moved from building to building disrupting classes that had only just begun. As they moved from class to class the crowd grew and grew.

EFF student representative Vuyani Pambo returned to lead the protest as he had been notably missing for the past two weeks.

When the group of students reached the West campus they were met by songstress Simphiwe Dana and Advocate Dali Mpofu who pledged to support them. Dana was also present at last year’s protest and volunteered to walk in front of the protesters to protect them from the police.

As the students were making their way back to the Great Hall, they were met by two police officers who threw a few canisters of stun grenades and tear gas at them. The officers were joined by more police officers who were armed with rifles.

As tear gas filled my eyes, I came across two students who were huddled together, crying in fear. Another journalist arrived and we helped them find a safe place to hide. It was barely 10am.

Meanwhile, after failed attempts by Mpofu to engage the police in negotiations, the students gathered again on the stairs of the Great Hall while private security guards blocked the entrance to Solomon Mahlangu House.

The protesters faced police again as they sang and danced once more. Dlamini and Mpofu addressed the students, with Dlamini saying that they were undeterred by the violence from the police and that they would fight for free education until the bitter end.

“We must remember that we are just a fraction of the number of students who qualify to be at Wits but have no money with which to enter its doors,” he said. He added that they were protesting in solidarity with other universities, mentioning the universities of Turfloop, Venda and UCT.

Shortly after his address, Dlamini walked towards the police, leading the large crowd when a policeman grabbed him and hit him in the face. Chaos broke out again and police began shooting rubber bullets at the students.

As I rushed to take pictures of Dlamini, who’s arrest seemed imminent, I bumped into a policeman who fell down. I was then hit in the stomach and on the shoulder by rocks that were thrown (presumably by protesters). I scrambled back up as fast as I could and rushed to take pictures of Dlamini’s struggle with the police.

More tear gas and stun grenades were thrown amid a hail of rubber bullets as students ran away or threw stones at police.

I had another brush with danger when I was trying to take pictures of the students throwing rocks. They then suddenly started throwing them at me. I ducked in a flower bed for protection as rubber bullets flew over my head. Someone came and grabbed me, helping me to get back up and to a safe spot behind the police.

Three topless girls then appeared and walked into the police circle and told them not to shoot and to leave them alone. The crowd of students then approached the line of police who appeared stunned by the half-naked girls before them.

The students then decided to march to Hillbrow Police Station to fetch their comrades who had been detained.

Dlamini was overheard talking on the phone to Mpofu who had earlier left to attend a meeting. “We are fetching our comrades from the police station because they were arrested for nothing. They must come back and join the fight for free education,” said Dlamini to Mpofu.

Eventually, the two arrested students were released and they returned to campus where they received a heroe’s welcome on the stairs of the Great Hall.

I left the campus and went home to nurse my bruises.