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Students injured as police fire stun grenades, rubber bullets at Wits protest

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Two students were forced to the ground and detained by the police late afternoon on Wednesday, following the second day of clashes between students, private security and police at Wits University, Johannesburg. Photo: Leon Sadiki/City Press
Two students were forced to the ground and detained by the police late afternoon on Wednesday, following the second day of clashes between students, private security and police at Wits University, Johannesburg. Photo: Leon Sadiki/City Press
Leon Sadiki

Another day of violence and chaos swept through Wits University and the surrounding streets, as students and the police battled once more on the third day of #FeesMustFall protests.

Scores of students were injured when the police shot a stun grenade in a bid to disperse a defiant group of protesters who were blocking the Station Street entrance on Jorissen Street.

Running on to the campus as white and green smoke billowed from the stun grenades, protesting students started pelting the police with stones from behind the gate – which seemed to have prompted the police to shoot them with rubber bullets.

Caps, bags and shoes were left strewn in the street, but students were not about to give up.

They returned, approaching the police with stones and police responded with rubber bullets and stun grenades to keep them at a distance.



Some student leaders emerged from campus with their hands in the air. They walked towards the police, urging them to cease fire, and left with some kind of agreement, but when the stones from behind the fence kept coming, more rubber bullets were fired.

Police had closed in earlier, shooting at students who had started pelting helpless equestrian unit officers who were trying to negotiate their way out of the chaotic situation on their horses.

After the dust had settled, students and staff members came running out of the campus to ask the police to call an ambulance because students were injured.

At least two students were transported to hospital by paramedics and an unconfirmed number of students were treated on site.

University management had announced the suspension of all activities for the rest of this week.

Students started gathering on campus this morning. They marched along the streets of Braamfontein until the police blocked their way at Stiemens Street. After some negotiations, students reluctantly walked back to campus but many some students decided to sit outside the entrance near Wits Theatre, singing and chanting slogans.

It seemed the police ran out of patience and fired a stun grenade to disperse them. It was at this moment that all hell broke loose amid stones pelted by students and rubber bullets from the police.

Soon after a student was loaded into an ambulance at Jorissen and Bertha Streets in Braamfontein, Wits students representative council secretary-general Fasiha Hassan urged the students to walk back into campus “where it is safe” and there they would decide what to do next.

Students reluctantly begin trickling back on to campus.

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