DURBAN - The University of KwaZulu-Natal is investigating allegations surrounding an incident where EFFSC members were locked in a building and set alight, while the Durban University of Technology (DUT) has raised concerns after two EFFSC members were injured.
This comes after the EFFSC at both universities made allegations that South African Students Congress (Sasco) members were threatening the lives of its members and attacking them.
A UKZN EFFSC statement said Sasco members trapped its members, mainly women, in a residence at R block, and set alight the building with the intention to kill them on Thursday evening.
It is alleged that Sasco members then blocked all entrances and proceeded to destroy the windows of the building. Several items, including cellphones, laptops and clothing were lost in the fires, compromising the academic future of the victims.
It further said that Risk Management Services (RMS) security personnel were put at risk helping students out of the building.
“We plead with university security, all survivors, and witnesses of this travesty to work closely with the SAPS in prosecuting those responsible for this attack. A case of attempted murder and arson has been opened against these perpetrators. We hope the law will take its just course in bringing these criminals to book.”
The institute’s executive director of corporate relations Normah Zondo confirmed that the university received a report of an altercation between groups of students, adding that they were investigating all the allegations.
“Members of the SAPS were called to campus. RMS also received reports of a fire at R Block where the Westville SRC members were accommodated and managed to extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated,” she said.
Meanwhile, DUT has raised concerns after one person alleged to be an EFFSC member was injured and required hospitalisation on Friday.
It is alleged that EFFSC members were provoked, harassed, and attacked by Sasco members in numerous residences namely Winterton, Steve Biko, Stratford, and student village.
DUT EFFSC said it was angered by the attacks on its members and about how it was taken as a joke and politicised on social platforms.
“We have opened a case against these individuals who have attacked our fighters. We shall intensify on our legal representatives that these individuals should be apprehended,” it said.
Alan Khan, senior director of corporate affairs at DUT, said the university condemned all acts of violence and urged that disputes be resolved peacefully.
He said according to witness reports received by the campus protection department, the incident occurred on a municipal road outside of the university’s property.
“We hope for a safe and successful recovery for the alleged member who was injured.”
Daily News