RUSTENBURG – The North West University’s Mafikeng campus remains closed after one of its buildings was set alight during protests on Wednesday.NWU spokesperson Koos Degenaar dsaid: “Currently everything is quiet on the campus. We have everything under control.”
Students claim that live ammunition was used to control the crowds and that a student was killed during the clashes, but the university has rubbished the claims.
“Rumours have been spread about a student that was killed as a result of the intervention by security, but this is devoid of all truth. It is, however, suspected that students were hurt during the clashes with security, but no confirmed information in this regard is available at this stage,” he said.
North West police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said they were not aware of any deaths.
“I can confirm that we had received reports of the buildings, the shootings and people being injured, but no one has yet opened a case.”eNCA was unable to independently verify the use of live rounds used to disperse crowds of students during Wednesday’s protests.
A student, Jeandre Goliath told e NCA this morning that things have calmed down at the Mafikeng campus, although more private security personnel are being brought in.
“There isn’t much movement on the campus.”
Meanwhile, the former leader of the North West University SRC has denied they are behind the torchings on campus.
“The submission by Koos (Degenaar) must be dismissed with contempt that the EFF is behind this (sic). We are behind access to education and the suspicion that we are behind this is absolutely malicious,” Benz Mabengwane said.
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