BREAKDOWN: What happened at Wits and Braamfontein?

The Wits University students protest brought Braamfontein to a complete standstill as they spilled into the streets with the police hot on their heels.

A bus was torched with occupants inside, a Puma store was looted and a total of eight students were arrested.

After the university management announced that lectures at Wits would continue, the students vowed to keep protesting and, on Monday 10 October, students once again disrupted classes by going from building to building and pulling students out of the lecture halls. During the march around campus, two students were arrested for holding sticks.

When students congregated on the stairs of the Great Hall, a group of students began pelting stones as the private security guards who were blocking the entrance to Solomon Mahlangu House. Two private security guards threw stones back at the students.

Police, who were camped under a tree, tried to bring in two Nyalas onto the courtyard but were stopped by students who sat in their way, and police then retaliated by throwing the first few stun grenades for the day, one more student was arrested.

Chaos ensued on Wits main campus as students openly threw stones at police who retaliated with more stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets. Students ran further back into the east campus where they were blocked by a gate whilst police used a water cannon to try and disperse the students who ran off campus as the gate behind them opened, letting them spill into the streets of Braamfontein where havoc reigned for several hours. Police then called for more police officers.

As police continued to shoot rubber bullets at students through the gate on Jan Smuts Avenue, traffic was brought to a standstill as motorists turned back onto the one-way lane, fearing for their lives as angry students continued to throw stones at police who were now randomly shooting at any moving person. Students then broke the stone dustbins into smaller pieces and used the stones to pelt the police.

Journalists also came under fire as a stun grenade and tear gas were thrown where they stood on the side, causing panic and mayhem as the smoke from the tear gas cleared up.

Soon thereafter a bus was torched and the Holy Trinity Catholic Church priest, Father Graham Pugin was shot in the mouth by police. Whilst the chaos was ensuing several homeless people attempted to loot a shop as well as a KFC. In the early evening, a Puma clothing store was looted after the glass windows were shattered with stones. Several students, as well as journalists, suffered injuries from the stones and the rubber bullets that were flying in the air.

Wits SRC secretary general Fasiah Hassan responded to the burning of the bus and looting of shops in the area and said that they distanced themselves from the bus burning and the damage caused to stores in the area. “We are confident that it is not our students who were involved in these activities and we distance ourselves from these actions. We believe that attributing these acts to students only furthers the attempt to delegitimise a noble and just cause and to criminalise us,” she said. She pointed out that in the four weeks of protest action at Wits University, there has been no incident of burning of any property by the protesting students and that not a single shop was looted or destroyed.

Students across the country began to protest on 19 September after the Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande announced that universities could increase their fees by 8 per cent.

Students are demanding that the government give them free, quality, decolonised education.

This is a developing story.