12 October 2016•Update: 12 October 2016
By Shu’eib Hassen
CAPE TOWN, South Africa
Campus security guards were reportedly locked inside a burning building as rampaging students set fire to the main entrance of a Cape Town university in the early hours of Wednesday.
The violence is linked to ongoing protests by students calling for free education.
Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) spokeswoman Lauren Kansley told local Eyewitness News: "[Students] also torched the security office at the main entrance to the campus and at least two vehicles were also damaged.
“In Cape Town, a building was also set alight. Charges of attempted murder were laid after protesters locked two security guards inside a burning building."
Tweets of officers arresting students at CPUT residences circulated online but police have been unable to give a full account, saying their investigation is still in progress.
The latest violence follows Tuesday afternoon’s incidents when student protestors were stopped by private security guards. The students had been trying to force their way into the college’s administration office to speak to Vice Chancellor Prins Nevhutalu.
Two days ago, Nevhutalu told students in a meeting there was no such thing as free education and that it was the government’s role to fund higher education.
CPUT staff worker Xoliswa Maputi told Anadolu Agency: “First it was throwing human waste into the offices and now it is burning down the place where they want to study.
“It feels as if we are prisoners in the workplace, having private security locking every gate as we enter and leave.”
The #FeesMustFall movement has brought universities to their knees in its pursuit for education affordability.
