Students arrested, injured in South Africa protests

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG

Police in Johannesburg used stun grenades Wednesday to disperse crowds of university students protesting for a third day against tuition fee hikes.

Skirmishes broke out after police stopped Witwatersrand University students from marching to other institutions of higher learning in the city where they hoped to mobilize support.

Police attempted to move the students back to their campus when violence started.

“One student was injured and two others have been arrested. They will be charged with public violence,” Johannesburg police spokesman Capt. Kay Makhubele told Anadolu Agency Wednesday.

Thirty-one students were arrested Tuesday after closing university entrances in a bid to shut down the campus.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday students were seen throwing stones at public order police, who responded by firing stun grenades at them.

A student at the scene who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety said many students had been injured Wednesday when police fired at them, but were rushed inside campus for treatment.

However, Anadolu Agency could not independently verify this claim.

Protests began Monday after Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande announced there would be a tuition fee hike for the 2017 academic year, decided by individual universities, but not to exceed 8 percent.

Students were infuriated by the announcement, saying their demands for a no fee hike and free education had not been met.

Last year, thousands of students marched to the seat of government in the capital Pretoria to protest a proposed tuition hike under the banner #FeesMustFall.

Lectures were suspended at several universities across the country, while university properties worth millions of rands (dollars) were vandalized.

After days of protests, President Jacob Zuma announced there would not be any tuition fee hike for the 2016 academic year.

Witwatersrand University announced Wednesday it had suspended all academic activities for the week as a result of the protests.