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WATCH | Building at UKZN Pietermaritzburg campus set alight amid student protests

By Witness Reporter

On Monday, armed police officers were seen patrolling inside the campus monitoring the situation.

The William O’ Brien (WOB) building at the UKZN Pietermaritzburg main campus was set on fire late on Monday night. Photo: Screengrab
The William O’ Brien (WOB) building at the UKZN Pietermaritzburg main campus was set on fire late on Monday night. Photo: Screengrab

The William O’Brien (WOB) building at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Pietermaritzburg main campus was allegedly set on fire late on Monday night.

This follows student protests that have been ongoing for the past couple of weeks against the National Student Financial Aid (Nsfas) scheme’s new direct payment method.

On Friday, the institution sent out an email informing students that contact classes were going to resume Monday — a week after they were moved to online classes due to ongoing student protests.

On Monday, armed police officers were seen patrolling inside the campus as well as police vehicles monitoring the situation at the campus gates.

ALSO READ | UKZN online learning disrupted

Reports and videos of the building set alight started circulating late on Monday night.

This is not the first time the WOB building was set on fire by protesting students.

In September 2016, a number of protesting students were arrested after they clashed with police and the WOB building was set alight on a Monday night.

*This is a developing story.