News24.com | WATCH | Wits students gather for third day of protests despite transgressors being suspended

• Friday is day three of the protest by Wits University students.
• Protesting students are up in arms over fees, outstanding debt and accommodation.
• The Student Representative Council has vowed to intensify the protest until their demands are met.

Protesting students from the University of the Witwatersrand took to the streets of Braamfontein, Johannesburg, on Friday, which marked the start of the third day of demonstrations.

Students are protesting against historic debt preventing students from registering, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) residence cap of R45 000, and rules on registering with the Hardship Fund, among other things.

On Thursday afternoon, the university announced that "multiple students" were suspended after they disrupted classes, looted shops, blocked traffic and damaged property in Braamfontein.

While the majority of the around 200 protesters remained peaceful on Thursday, a few became violent during a standoff with security guards who prevented them from entering the Great Hall on campus.

Students led by the Student Representative Council (SRC) were determined to enter the hall for a sit-in, but the crowd dispersed after trying to block Empire Road during rush hour traffic.

The protest resumed on Friday morning as a group of protesters wearing EFF regalia, some with masks and balaclavas, made their way to the main gate off Empire Road in a bid to block the entrance to the university.

A scuffle broke out when they were met by campus security and the new additional private security hired by the university, dubbed "bouncers", who were guarding the entrance.

The security guards managed to block protesters from entering the campus, and by 09:00 the group dispersed. Shortly after 11:00, scores of students took to the streets of Braamfontein, followed by the Public Order Police unit, who kept a watchful eye.

Shops and businesses were open on Friday, but had visible security outside their doors.

Despite the protest ending lectures, the university was determined to continue all academic activities scheduled for Friday.

The SRC notified students that Friday was the beginning of the "official shutdown at Wits".

Meanwhile, Wits University denied entry to journalists who wanted to gain access to the campus. Wits University spokesperson Shirona Patel said protection services felt "that having the media in the midst of the action sometimes inflames the situation, which makes it harder to manage".

Students are currently gathered outside the Yale Road entrance to campus, and the university has shut all entrances. Friday is the last day students can register at Wits.