Three WSU students interdicted from campus protest action

Only three Walter Sisulu University students were interdicted yesterday from acting illegally in ongoing protests that have been characterised by violence at three of the university’s campuses. According to a TimesLIVE report, the university sought an interdict against the general student body to prohibit incidents of damage and theft of property‚ assault and the disruption of academic activities at its Butterworth‚ Mthatha and Buffalo City campuses. But‚ even though the matter was unopposed in the Eastern Cape High Court (Grahamstown)‚ Judge Jeremy Pickering wanted the university to address him on an earlier judgment in terms of which the court in 2016 denied Rhodes University a general interdict against people identified only as ‘students’. In the WSU matter the students are defined even more widely as the ‘general student body’. WSU‚ for the time being‚ settled for an interim interdict prohibiting the three campus leaders‚ Siphelo Mkhuzangwe‚ Mxolisi Zoko and Vuyo Langeni‚ from damaging or stealing university property‚ assaulting staff or students or enticing others to act illegally. Attorney for WSU, Mark Nettelton, said that they intended having the matter called again in court so that they could argue in favour of an interdict against the general student body. Court papers said WSU had been forced to shut down three of its four campuses following student protests that have‚ in the past few weeks‚ resulted in millions of rands worth of damage to university property on three of its campuses and left staff and some students reportedly fearing for their lives.

– TimesLIVE