UCT was shut down yesterday after protesting students and staff disrupted campus and blocked the Jammie Shuttle service.
The protest occurred after three students – Masixole Mlandu, Chumani Maxwele and Olwethu Mzayaifani – walked out of their student disciplinary tribunal. They have been charged with breaching UCT’s code of conduct during the Shackville protest, where portraits were set alight.
Mlandu, Maxwele and Mzayaifani said they walked out of the tribunal after they were denied a postponement to get legal representation.
The tribunal took place at St Joseph’s Marist College in Rondebosch because Maxwele is interdicted from being on campus. Members of the Fees Must Fall (FMF) collective and UCT staff wanted to give evidence as a group, but this was denied.
They then moved back to UCT, where they disrupted activities in lecture halls, kitchens and cafeterias. Jammie Shuttle drivers were forced to get out of the buses, bringing the service to a halt.
UCT spokesperson Pat Lucas said there was engagement with the protesting students and that no demands were received.
The FMF collective said it spoke to student movements at other universities to shut down their campuses in solidarity.
Mzayaifani said the stronger voices were being targeted as a way to instil fear.
“They believe that if they rid perceived leaders, it would instil fear in the masses and end the movement. We are rebuilding, and we in the Western Cape and across the provinces are working towards a unifying voice.
“We demanded that the tribunal postpone until we find legal representation, as well as for our supporters outside to enter proceedings as witnesses. The tribunal denied our requests, to which they walked out of proceedings."
Mlandu said workers were threatened with disciplinary action. He said they were fighting a system and institution that did not care for the black child.
Kylie Hatton, another UCT spokesperson, said: “The university has an interdict in place against three students, two of whom are in the current SDT (student disciplinary tribunal) and one in the previous.
"Given that thousands of people have engaged in protests, even disruptive ones over the last 18 months, it is evident that the SDT and interdicts, which involve five students, are not a tactic to undermine protest.”