‘We did not intimidate students and staff’ — Wits SRC

Wits University’s student representative council (SRC) has denied claims by the institution that protesters intimidated students and staff during protests and said the suspension of students should be lifted to avoid further conflict.

Six SRC members have been suspended this week, including president Aphiwe Mnyamana, for allegedly flouting the university’s rules by forcing students to leave lecture halls while attending classes.

In a letter from the SRC’s attorneys, Mabuza Attorneys, most allegations made by the university against the students were said not to be true.

Wits claimed through its lawyers that SRC members forced students out of classes, blocked busses from operating and one student was found in possession of a petrol canister on campus.

“On the morning of March 2, protesting students forced students out of study rooms and a venue outside the Wits Science Stadium where students were writing a test, and destroyed the test scripts and scattered the scripts around campus.

“During the afternoon protesters prevented medical personnel from attending Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital,” said the university’s lawyer, Aslam Moosajee of Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs Inc.

However, the SRC said the claims were untrue as it was lobbying other students to join the protests.

Mabuza Attorneys said the students were reacting to the “despicable and criminal” actions of private security deployed on campus. The security officials were harassing, manhandling and throwing stones at the students, the lawyers claimed.

“We deny the SRC members intimidated or instigated other students to intimidate students, staff, campus shop owners and security, let alone damage university property,  disrupt classes or prevent access to campus.

“In fact, the university needs to explain why it deemed it appropriate to invite bouncers and the police service on campus,” said Mabuza Attorneys.

Wits University said it has video footage which traces the acts of protesting students, including the times of their alleged attacks on others students and  security and prevention of access to the campus.

Some students have expressed shock and disappointment that the protests were conducted without consultation with the broader student body, said Moosajee. Instead, they misrepresented the facts about the university’s efforts to assist with financial issues.

Mabuza Attorneys has asked the university to lift the suspension of SRC members to ensure the situation does not escalate further.

“The suspension will not help the university to resolve the problem. If anything, it will merely deepen the crisis. Needless to say, the suspension of the SRC president has caused a further chasm between management and the student leadership.”

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.