News24.com | Mixed messages over Wits student protest cause confusion

Members of the University of Witwatersrand SRC.

• The University of Witwatersrand protest appears to have restarted after a ceasefire on Wednesday.
• The student representative council (SRC) met with the vice-chancellor, but suspended members were not included.
• The SRC and the suspended SRC president appear to be giving different messages about the status of the protest. 

After a 24-hour “ceasefire” on Wednesday, the University of Witwatersrand student protest appears to have restarted. 

On Thursday afternoon, a handful of students arrived at Wits' Faculty of Health Sciences in Parktown, and blocked the entrances to the campus.

Students led by the student representative council (SRC) are engaged in an ongoing protest over finances, accommodation and historic debt.

On Wednesday, the SRC agreed to a 24-hour “ceasefire” on condition that they met with the university and Vice-Chancellor (VC) Zeblon Vilakazi.

University spokesperson Shirona Patel said the parties met and agreed to a de-escalation of protests and security on campus.

"A professional mediation process to move forward was suggested. We are waiting for the SRC leaders to confirm if they will participate in such a process to move forward,” she said.

However, it was unclear if the SRC had agreed. 

A strongly worded letter by the SRC on what they said was a breakdown in communications at the meeting with the VC was published on the official SRC Twitter page on Thursday afternoon, then removed.

But the letter remains on the Twitter account of the suspended SRC president, Aphiwe Mnyamana.

READ | Wits University protest: SRC president looks to Dali Mpofu for legal counsel after his suspension

According to this letter, one reason for the breakdown in communications was that the suspended SRC members were not permitted to meet with the university leaders.

“The request was met with resounding arrogance as the proceedings were abruptly halted as the senior executive team remained adamant in their refusal to allow for the proceedings to continue with the entire SRC body noting that this was hinged on the fact that this time around the sitting president … had also been suspended.” 

The SRC letter called this a “divide and conquer strategy”.

“Management has gone too far, and the wounds they have left on student activism will never fade. We, as the SRC, were shaken to our cores when threats were issued to all of us, regarding incriminating and career-ending evidence that could be used against us at any moment,” the notice read.

Patel said she could not comment because the university had not yet received correspondence from the SRC.

On Wednesday morning, the SRC also gave three conditions for calling a permanent “ceasefire” while they negotiate with the university.

The demands are that the university removes police from campus, removes private security or “bouncers” from campus, and lifts the suspensions of students who are accused by the university of violating the regulations around protesting.

Patel said of the three demands the university had already acceded to the demand of no police on campus.

She said the police had not been on campus for a few days and were only called "when needed".

"If the students commit to non-violence [and adhere to the rules around protesting] then the university would reduce the security numbers and eventually remove them. Once there is no risk then we are happy to remove them."

But she said the university would not lift the suspension of students.

READ | 'Unacceptable': Wits slams students for marching to VC's house, allegedly threatening to burn it

"The university will allow the [suspension] process to take its course. There must be consequences to actions. These students were not suspended for protesting."

Tensions between the VC and students had reached a climax on Sunday night when, according to the institution, around 200 students marched to his home and allegedly threatened to burn it down. This after the SRC rejected a number of the concessions the university had presented during negotiations to end the protests.

But the SRC said only a handful of students marched to Vilakazi's home and that the event was peaceful.