Students win court bid to stop MUT from kicking them out of res

The Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) student representative council (SRC) was granted an interim interdict to stop the university from evicting students from residences.

The SRC brought the urgent interdict on Thursday morning after students received notice from the university asking them to vacate all campuses and residents on Tuesday.

“Regrettably, all students must vacate all campuses and residences by 4pm today, February 19 2019. No student will be allowed to remain on campus and therefore they should remove all their belongings,” Dr Enoch Duma Malaza, vice-chancellor, said in a notice posted on the university's website. 

The notice came following a day of protest at the university's Umlazi campus, where students blockaded the entrance to the institution with boulders and bricks and allegedly overturned a car. Eight students were arrested for public violence.

Speaking to TimesLIVE outside the Durban high court on Thursday, MUT SRC president Codesa Gwala said: "Currently we are very happy as students. We are going to celebrate this very much. We are very disappointed because what we saw in MUT were black people, who were going to give us guidance as our parents, but currently they are not doing that."

Gwala said that some students were forced to sleep on the streets after they were kicked out of their residences.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the university said: "As far as taking the university to court, in terms of the university statute, the vice-chancellor has a right to close down the university after consultation with all the relevant parties to ensure the safety of staff." 

The matter will be back in court on Friday where the university is expected to file its response.