The 2023 Wits shutdown escalated from a peaceful protest to fiery riots in a matter of days and, on Friday, frustrated students clashed with public order police.
Watch: 2023 Wits shutdown explodes in violence
Keeping true to its warnings, Wits University recruited the assistance of external security, as well as public order police, to create a parameter around key entry points of the Braamfontein campus.
This decision, the tertiary institution explained in a statement released on Thursday, 2 March 2023, was made after groups of students, some of whom were academically excluded, blocked campus entry points, shut down roads and looted shops in Braamfontein.
“This afternoon, we also issued mulitple suspension orders to disruptors who transgressed the University’s rules. The Legal Office will continue to work through the evidence submitted by the Wits community to ensure that perpetrators who can be identified, are charged,” the statement read.
However, the presence of armed police officers and private security only exacerbated the problem and, on Friday, following palpable tensions between 2023 Wits shutdown protesters and riot police, chaos erupted.
Here are some of the video clips that surfaced on social media, showing the full-scale unrest that broke out at the Braamfontein campus on Friday.
According to Wits’ SRC, the 2023 Wits shutdown is an effort to get the tertiary to:
- lobby for NSFA to lift its R45 000 cap on accommodation funding immediately;
- allow all students owing R150 000 or less to register for the 2023 academic year;
- waive its R10 000 upfront fee for accommodation;
- allocate an additional R30 million toward the Hardship Fund’s efforts to provide beds for homeless students; and
- waive all debts owed by recipients of the fund.