Wits students take registration fight to Luthuli House

Unregistered students at the University of the Witwatersrand took to the streets of Johannesburg on Monday to demand registration for all students with historical debts. 

A group of students held a picket outside the ANC’s Albert Luthuli House headquarters, appealing for an audience with the party’s National Working Committee.

In February, a group of unregistered students at Wits embarked on a 12-day hunger strike, demanding registration for all students despite the historical debt. 

Wits University has, however, denied claims that a group of students held the hunger strike. 

The university’s spokesperson, Sharona Patel, said there is no truth to the claim that thousands of unregistered students are protesting. 

“There is no bunch of unregistered stunts; it is just these two people. One is 39, and the other one is in his 30s. They both have two Wits degrees and are calling themselves the hunger strikers,” said Patel. 

“They are protesting because they want Wits to register them for a third degree. Every day, they sit in an office, write press releases, and send them to different media houses saying they are going on a hunger strike, they will protest naked, they will go to the ANC offices.”

In a statement, the Wits Hunger Strikers' leader, Siviwe Mafuna, said they are taking the unresolved crisis to Luthuli House because the University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, refused them an audience. 

“Wits University has misled the public, claiming to support students while thousands are left excluded, even those who qualify for financial aid. Many rejected for funding programs with no reason,” said Mafuna

“A decade after #FeesMustFall, students are still being denied their constitutional right to education and treated not as citizens with rights but as economic burdens to be discarded.“

Mafuna accused Wits University of “embracing apartheid policies of exclusion”.

“We understand that black lives don’t matter at Wits University, and they will discard us for being poor and black. They expect us to die in the rural areas, but we elected to die in front of those who preside over the system,” said Mafuna. 

Mafuna said they are demanding immediate intervention from President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government to ensure that every unregistered student is registered.

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