‘Voetsek Zuma, voetsek Mugabe’ – Fort Hare students try to force way into hall
East London – Protesting students outside the University of Fort Hare tried to force their way into the hall where Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and President Jacob Zuma were due to speak at centenary celebrations on Friday.
Police used water cannons to disperse the crowd.
Over a hundred students were marching to the sports complex where the institution’s centenary celebrations are taking place.
Singing “Asinamali” (we don’t have money) and holding placards reading “Centenary my ass”, students promised to disrupt proceedings.
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“If it means we fight till the end of the year, we will fight. What are they celebrating when we are hungry? Voetsek Zuma, voetsek Mugabe,” one student said.
Wednesday evening saw protesting Fort Hare students set fire to a building and a tent on the Alice campus, only two days before the university’s centenary celebrations. The protests continued until the early hours of Friday morning, when police fired rubber bullets and teargas at protesters.
The students claimed that university management had not met all of their demands.
One of the demands was that students who did not live in residences on campus should receive allowances for accommodation and transport before the end of the first semester.
Zuma as well as Mugabe are expected to speak at today’s event.
Students protest during Fort Hare University’s centenary celebrations. (Lizeka Tandwa, News24)
