Members of the EFF Student Command have gone on the rampage – shutting down companies and shops in the Johannesburg CBD.
The protests broke out after hundreds of Wits University students marched to Braamfontein after handing over a memorandum of demands at the Constitutional Court. They also handed over a memorandum to ANC Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, at Luthuli House, earlier today.
The students are protesting about the non-registration of students who still owe money to Wits.
Secretary-General of the EFF Student Command, Muzi Khoza, says they will forge ahead with protests until their demands are met.
“We are touching the white monopoly capital. When we close banks, when we close these companies, we know deep down in our hearts we are touching the white monopoly capital. And then they are forced to speak to their puppets, [President] Cyril Ramaphosa and the Treasury to listen to our demands including [Higher Education Minister] Blade Nzimande, when we call for students to register without any up front payment,” says Khoza.
The students from the University of Johannesburg have also joined in the protest.
They are marching from the institution’s Kingsway Campus to the Bunting Road Campus in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.
The march is in solidarity with the plight of their Wits counterparts.
Students march to UJ Bunting Road Campus:
Yesterday, the situation in Braamfontein became violent and 35-year-old Mthokozisi Ntumba was shot dead when the police opened fire to disperse students.
Johannesburg Metro Police spokesperson, Xolani Fihla, has advised motorists to drive with extreme care in the areas where the students are protesting.
“Following continuous protest action by students in the Braamfontein precinct several intersections were blocked off by students as they are picketing. We have noticed slight traffic disruptions in the area, especially on Bertha, Jorrison and De Korte Street,” Fihla says.
He says JMPD officers are on high alert as they continue to monitor protests.
“We are urging motorists to exercise caution and be patient at this moment,” he concludes.
