'Student' arrested for attempted murder

13 October 2016 - 08:31 By ARON HYMAN, APHIWE DEKLERK and SIPHO MABENA
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FACELESS CRUSADER: Tshwane University of Technology students rampage through the streets of the Pretoria CBD yesterday, but were tackled by police, who fired rubber bullets and stun grenades
FACELESS CRUSADER: Tshwane University of Technology students rampage through the streets of the Pretoria CBD yesterday, but were tackled by police, who fired rubber bullets and stun grenades
Image: VELI NHLAPO

#FeesMustFall protests took a deadly turn yesterday when police arrested a 26-year-old for attempted murder in Cape Town.

Three security guards at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology were attacked in the campus security control room.

Students allegedly torched the building at the Bellville campus and left the men for dead in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Yesterday, protesters brought the Pretoria city centre to a standstill, forcing businesses to close and employees to flee.

And in Durban it emerged that one of those arrested for torching two buildings at the University of KwaZulu-Natal yesterday was not enrolled at the institution.

Police spokesman Sally de Beer confirmed the 26-year-old linked to the attack at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology will appear in the Bellville Magistrate's Court today on charges of attempted murder, arson and malicious damage to property.

Forefront Security's Mandisi Kibito said the security guards called for help after students approached their control room armed with sticks and petrol bombs.

"One of my supervisors responded but the building was up in flames already and [the guards] tried to hide in the back because the students had surrounded the control centre," Kibito said.

University spokesman Lauren Kansley said guards from three security companies had been deployed after the violence on Tuesday.

She said damage to buildings and equipment was likely to run into millions of rands.

The institution has not yet ordered the evacuation of students from its residences but staff were seen evacuating the administration building carrying paperwork.

De Beer said 12 students other than the 26-year-old were arrested and appeared in court yesterday. They will remain in custody until they appear in court on Wednesday.

In Pretoria, police in armoured vehicles shot rubber bullets at students on the Tshwane University of Technology's Pretoria West campus. The students, who used dustbin lids as shields and were armed with sticks and stones, disrupted classes before pouring into the city.

A third-year marketing student at the university, Nompumelelo Haga, is due to graduate next year but has no idea if she will be able to write her final exams this year.

"I have paid R20000 for this year. What if I cannot write my exams and do not graduate: will I have to pay again? It is really frustrating."

University of KwaZulu-Natal spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said a TV room at the Malherbe residence, and part of the Deneys Schreiner lecture theatre, were set alight yesterday.

"Two suspects were arrested. One is a registered student and the other a former student," said Seshoka. He said a car was overturned on the Howard College campus in Durban as protests intensified yesterday.

- Additional reporting by Matthew Savides

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