Motorists terrified as stoning rampage carries on at NMMU campuses despite police action

Protesting students at NMMU ramped up the battle with police and those wanting to attend lectures yesterday, with a number of cars damaged after they were stoned. While there was an uneasy calm throughout the south campus at the beginning of the day, following two days of turmoil since the university announced it was reopening, events quickly took a turn for the worse when 18 cars parked on campus were stoned. And last night, a fire broke out near NMMU’s athletics track. “It [the fire] is being attended to by relevant personnel,” NMMU spokeswoman Zandile Mbabela said. It was not clear what caused the fire at a boma area near the athletics track on the south campus. After the quiet start, sporadic incidents flared up one after the other, with more than 10 cars left with shattered windows and the distraught owners in tears. The protesters had warned that vehicles be left off campus or risk being stoned. A staff member, whose car had been parked at the Embizweni building and the windows smashed just before 8am, said she would not be returning to the university as management could not guarantee her safety. “I am gatvol [fed up] now. I’m never coming back here again,” the tearful woman, who did not want to be named, said. “The university cannot decide whether it wants to stay open or closed. We came here to help the students and continue with lectures, but they go and do this.” A rock was found on her front seat as dozens of students looked on from the Madiba Shirt sculpture, where they had gathered. A police Nyala drove onto the Madiba Shirt lawns later in an attempt to disperse more than 200 protesters, while dumpsters loaded with rocks were confiscated. More cars with smashed windows were discovered around campus, with another staff member – Bokkie Olivier – shaken after three of her car’s windows were broken. “As I parked, it was so quiet – no stones, nothing,” she said. “But just after I got out [of the car], they threw the stones and smashed my car like that and ran.” NMMU was meant to resume academic activities on Tuesday but protesting #FeesMustFall students have vowed it will stay closed. There were no lectures on the south campus yesterday, but a few engineering lectures took place at the north campus. Disruptions were also reported at the Second Avenue campus. Mbabela said the university had tried “valiantly” to resume classes, but the circumstances had made this extremely difficult. She confirmed that NMMU would remain open, but said it would not be possible to conduct classes on the south campus. “Faculties will communicate exact arrangements for each of the modules soon,” she said. “We will continue to provide various kinds of support during this period, the details of which will be made known early next week and on an ongoing basis.” As the clashes continued yesterday, police broke through a locked gate at the Letaba residence on the north campus after students pelted them with rocks. The students took cover in their rooms as police unleashed a water cannon laced with teargas. Tempers flared when a woman student was arrested after a police officer searched her bag and found it filled with rocks. At about 11am, there were reports of a petrol bomb hurled at a police water cannon at the south campus. Police spokeswoman Brigadier Sally de Beer said a 20-year-old woman had been arrested in connection with stone-throwing. She will appear in court today. Meanwhile, armed police officers also kept a sharp eye at the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court yesterday, where 31 people made a brief appearance after their arrest at the university on Wednesday. Police officers stood outside the court entrance while more were seen inside. The accused – 16 women and 15 men – could not all fit in the dock at the same time, and some had to sit in the front row of the public gallery. Charges include public violence and malicious damage to property. They will return to court today for a possible bail application. The court said it wanted to verify how many of the accused were current students and how many were employees of the university All 31 were detained at the Humewood police cells overnight. Parents waited outside court. –Additional reporting by Devon Koen