Campus arsonists are a corrosive force‚ says CPUT leader

The acting Cape Peninsula University of Technology vice-chancellor says campus attacks by a “small group of arsonists” may have left many staff‚ students and their parents feeling vulnerable.

The university has advised them to make use of trauma counselling available on campus.

“The past 48 hours have seen a number of CPUT campuses struck by a series of arson attacks on buildings. This includes the staff room of the Mowbray campus‚ a financial aid office on the Bellville campus and finally a lecture theatre at the Cape Town campus‚” said Dr Chris Nhlapo in a statement.

“We maintain the services of two private security companies and criminal cases will be investigated in all these matters.

“I strongly condemn these attacks on university infrastructure and I assure you that a concerted effort across a number of university units is under way to ensure we ferret these criminals out and punish them with the full might of the law.

“As always‚ I urge you to remember that attacks like these are instigated by a small group of anarchists who have no interest in seeing CPUT or its students thrive. Incidents like these do much more than simply damage our infrastructure‚ it also corrodes the ethos of hard work and diligence that we spent the past 12 years building.”

Nhalpo said there were two “matters of contention” — insourcing of workers and the suspension of four student leaders who were involved in protests.

On Wednesday‚ CPUT spokesman Lauren Kansley said the first attack took place shortly before midnight. At 4am the staff room at the Mowbray campus sustained severe damage‚ and at 1pm a lecture theatre on the Cape Town campus was set on fire.

The attacks followed unrest on Monday last week‚ when an industrial design workshop and the entrance to a building were set alight.

Cosatu‚ despite supporting the Fees Must Fall campaign and free education “from the cradle to the grave”‚ condemned the attacks.

“This kind of damage to property denies the black child the facilities to get educated and is counterproductive‚” said a statement by the union federation.