wits protest

Wits students protest fee hikes

Chanting could be heard early in the morning on Wednesday October 3 as students

gathered in front of the Wits Great Hall.

After several minutes the crowd began to move into the building. Their intent was to demonstrate

against fee increases by marching and disrupting lectures on campus.

Starting in Senate House, lecture halls throughout the varsity were taken over by singing and

dancing protestors.

They spent several minutes in each room, longer if somebody started to make a speech.

Most students trying to attend class walked out and waited until they moved on. Some later

reported they were forcibly removed from lecture theatres by the strikers.

The march made its way across campus. Moving from East to West, sparing no

building in their path.

The strikers were focused but still reasonably controlled. The core group of leaders were often heard to be urging the

non-violent nature of the march.

After several laps the students returned to Senate House to present demands to management.

Zakes Maya and several others addressed the crowd. Mbali Hlophe, then president of SRC, read out a memorandum to acting Vice-Chancellor Yunus

Ballim.

Ballim signed the memorandum in recognition of the protestors demands.

The students continued to march around campus for the rest of the day.

It was mid-afternoon when protest leaders began to lose control of the mob.

Dustbins were overturned and possibly destroyed. There were also reports of stones being thrown.

This was enough for Rob Kemp, head of Wits Security, to call the police.

Police fired rubber bullets into the mob of students, injuring one girl.

Senior Superintendent Van Ryn fired live 9mm rounds into the ground to scare off the students, despite the fact that most were fleeing already.

New SRC treasurer Andile Makholwa and Mbali Hlophe were roughly arrested on unknown

charges.

Hlophe and Makholwa were held overnight at Hillbrow Police Station.

They were fined R2000 each and released in the morning.

Meanwhile, the protest was still going strong at Wits.

There were a few less people, but those remaining made up for it with enthusiasm

The demonstration was officially called off by the SRC the following Wednesday.

The results of their actions were not much, I guarantee of three square meals for

financial aid students and the fees for B ED dropped by 9%.

What they did make clear is that South African students are still willing to take

action for what they believe in.