Wits responds to SRC suspension claims

The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has responded to allegations that members of the Student Representative Council (SRC) have been suspended. 

On Thursday, the SRC tweeted that they had been suspended and locked out of their residence rooms. 

It came after days of vocal protests over student exclusions in which Mthokozisi Ntumba was killed by the police. 

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Wit's Shirona Patel says it is not the entire SRC that was suspended and the disciplinary action predates the protest action. 

"Three students were suspended last week already - this has nothing to do with the protests this week," said Patel. 

According to Patel, the students were suspended for breaking Covid-19 protocol and other rules. 

She adds: "The suspension process is a lengthy process, so the students would have received letters; they are then allowed to make representations, and they are allowed to go through an appeal process before anything happens."

The student protests that started at Wits have spread throughout the country and were set to continue on Friday.