Durban - Students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville campus, armed with petrol bombs, stones and other weapons torched a building on Tuesday night as a nation-wide protest over historical fee debt took a violent, destructive turn.
According to police spokesman, Brigadier Jay Naicker students at the Westville campus managed to overpower security guards and went about torching the management services buildings. The security guards who were pelted with stones, managed to flee and alerted the police.
By the time the police's public order officers along with other emergency services arrived the building was well alight. Firefighters were able to douse the inferno.
Students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville campus, armed with petrol bombs, stones and other weapons torched a building on Tuesday night. Picture: Supplied
No arrests have been made in connection with the torching.
It comes as the university suspended registration on Wednesday after around 1000 students disrupted proceedings at the Howard College campus and ran amok in the neighbouring suburbs.
Police said that initially, around 100 students gathered on campus and started disrupting the registration points on campus.
They forced other students to join them which swelled the crowd to around 1000 students.
Students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville campus, armed with petrol bombs, stones and other weapons torched a building on Tuesday night. Picture: Supplied
"They moved to Princess Alice Street (in the neighbouring suburb of Manor Gardens) and set DSW bins on fire on the road," a police spokesman said.
"Registration has been suspended. The situation is tense. There has been slight damage to UKZN property. Police have been deployed to monitor the protests and take appropriate action when protesters commit crime".
UKZN spokesperson Ashton Bodrick said the university’s management would continue to engage with the student leadership.
The students were protesting over historical debt and financial exclusion, among other issues.
On the second day of protests, with students pelting security guards with rocks and lighting fires.
“The university is currently investigating some acts of criminality. The damage to university property only serves to divert vital resources away from those who need it most. Anyone found to be participating in criminal activity will be prosecuted,” Bodrick said.
Meanwhile, at Mangosuthu University of Technology, it was business as usual as students were being registered. The university said it had reached the 10000 mark of its target of 12500 students.
MUT registrar Mike Naidoo said: “Our registration success is a result of months of planning and finding ways of speeding up the process, which often means a visit to Seme Hall to identify bottlenecks and solve them.
Picture: Supplied
“As it is, we have a standing meeting every afternoon to assess our registration process.”
Lectures at MUT begin next week and registration closes at the end of this week.