Irate UKZN students torch couch

Irate University of KwaZulu-Natal students expressed their displeasure over a snub by the institution’s management by torching a couch at the Edgewood campus on Monday.

The burning of the couch was but one move in a tense standoff between riot police and students.

Perfect Mdepha‚ secretary general of the Edgewood Student Representative Council‚ said that the only thing the university understood was fire.

“We are protesting because of the ignorance of this university management… their ignorance of our grievances and issues‚” he said.

“We have requested for these to be addressed for a long time. He listed a range of issues from housing to laptops‚ but was not able to elaborate what the points of contention were‚” he added.

Attempts to get Mdepha to provide a written memorandum explaining the list of grievances was unsuccessful at the time of publishing.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said that‚ according to their information‚ the SRC had on Friday approached UKZN and requested the executive director for student affairs to come and address their concerns.

“But she didn’t show and today they blockaded the entrance and burned a couch belonging to the university.”

“The first-year students have no food allowance‚ laptops and housing; these are their concerns. A case of public violence has been opened and no arrests have been made‚” he said.

UKZN spokesperson Indu Moodley had not responded to repeated requests for comment at the time of publishing.