Wits confirm arrest of 14 people on campus
Fourteen people were in custody at the Hillbrow Police Station on Friday after they were arrested for allegedly violating a court order preventing them from disrupting university activities.
The court order was obtained in January.
The university said some of the detained individuals are students at the institution.
In a statement the university said: “They have been involved in a number of unlawful activities on our campuses in recent days.”
University management said they arrested the fourteen students based on six unlawful activities.
“These criminal activities include the unlawful occupation of the Senate House Concourse, attempted arson, malicious damage to property, the alleged burning of a bus, the setting alight of a mattress at the back of a library, and the vandalisation of university property,” said Wits management.
University spokesperson Shirona Patel said the institution had deployed extra security personnel on all campuses after a bus was set alight on Wednesday night.
“Given the incidents that have occurred in the last two days, the university has no option but to once again deploy a strong contingent [of security personnel] throughout our campuses including on the bus routes. We are left with no choice but to redirect resources away from where it is needed most,” said Patel.
In a statement, the university said, in line with the institution’s policies, some of the students detained would be suspended or barred from all campuses.
“There are some that argue that the university is criminalising protest. This is completely untrue. The activities that we have witnessed in recent days are criminal and we are responding accordingly,” said the university.