Howard College under fire
Striking students continue to disrupt lectures at UKZN and the situation has come to a head with a student allegedly shot during protests.
STUDENT protests reached a climax this week at UKZN's Howard College campus when they set fire to the Howard College Law Library in the latest shocking incident on campus which sent students fleeing clashes between the protestors, security and police.
Students posted blow by blow details of the chaos on campus on social media, some describing the area as a “war zone”, with at least one female student allegedly shot.
Responding to the latest violence, UKZN management has brought forward the September recess period and campuses have been closed and students told to leave campus. Lesiba Seshoka, UKZN's executive director of Corporate Relations said the university would be closed until 19 September. He added that students who had engaged in illegal and destructive activities had been apprehended and were in police custody.
According to Seshoka, students set fire to some University property, security guard huts, bins and furniture. “The protest action escalated with groups of students having engaged in acts of violence against security officials. South African Police Services, University Risk Management Services and Public Order Policing dispersed the crowds using rubber bullets and teargas,” he explained.
Seshoka said the University had not received any reports of “live ammunition” being used on students as alleged on social media.
Speaking of the fire at the Law Library, Seshoka said a section of the UKZN Law Library at the Howard College building caught fire around 5.30pm on Tuesday. “The Metro Fire Department and University Risk Management Services (RMS) managed to extinguish the flames by 6.30pm. A large number of books were destroyed and security officials suspect arson. An investigation is currently underway,” he said.
A first year student who wished to remain anonymous, said she was glad she did not go to campus as she feared for her safety. “Yesterday (Monday) I went to school, and they (protesting students), took us out of the lecture venues. They just came in and were harassing us. When I left campus protesting students had sticks and were hyping things up, I just wanted to get away,” she said.
A former UKZN law student, who is an assistant state attorney for the Justice Department, Ligeseree Pillay, said she was “really sad” to hear about the fire. “I spent many hours studying and researching case law and preparing assignments in the library. The information and law reports in that library were valuable beyond words.
“It saddens me that our history is going up in flames,” Pillay added.
Former librarian at UKZN, Nasreen Moosa, said she represented millions of “custodians of information/knowledge,” librarians and book lovers all across the spectrum who were saddened and appalled by the recent spate of destruction to prized possessions of teaching and learning.
“Having worked as a library professional, among some very dedicated and hardworking academics and students at the UKZN libraries, I am heartbroken that we have allowed this type of barbaric and selfish behaviour towards our learning centres overcome all else,” she added.
