Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela says the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) management has confirmed that students have not been evicted from accommodations.
Manamela was briefing protesting CPUT students outside Ekhaya Residence in Cape Town on Thursday night following an inspection of the building.
He accompanied them to the residence after a stand off with police outside the City Hall, where the State of the Nation Address (SONA) was held.
The students alleged that they were evicted from the private residence and complained about poor living conditions.
Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela eroute to Ekhaya student residence after CPUT students protested outside the #SONA venue. The institution placed the students there temporarily and now the the residence management had since evicted them due to lack of funds. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/Rmx5RyxtFA
— lebotshangela (@lebotshangela) February 12, 2026
Manamela says the department is going to inspect buildings that students said are not habitable.
“If they are found on the basis of our standards that we have established as department, any of the buildings, any of the rooms found not be habitable, the NSFAS working together with the university has to find alternative accommodation, so we are going to work on that, we’ve discussed this with your leadership, we’ve discussed this and that this inspection will start immediately from tomorrow (Friday), we want to encourage all of you to work together with the inspectors from the university.”
Manamela apologised to the students for the conditions of the residence.
He says, “So I want to apologise to you, whoever came here, at least with the two rooms that I have seen and confirmed that those two rooms should have students staying in them and so immediately we have to make sure that we change that situation.”
Manamela adds, “ So for now, there will be no student who will sleep outside. We have been working with CPUT management, with the SRC and everyone to ensure that CPUT students never ever sleep outside. This in our view is very unfortunate and it is not because students did not have rooms allocated, it’s because of the quality of the room and that is what we are going to deal with and I hope that this is resolved as speedily as possible before the academic problem resumes, so for now together with your selected leadership, I have seen the SRC.”
STUDENT GRIEVANCE PERSISTS
Following Manamela’s address students remained on the street with their luggage and belongings insisting that they were evicted and other people have been placed in their rooms.
One student says, “There is no use moving back, we are going to be moving around with bags again. It’s even worse where they have put in people, we are going to find it full, where are we going to sleep?”
“Even if we go in, tomorrow (Friday) we are going to be evicted. There are people they have paid waiting for their rooms and then we are going to be evicted, how are we going sleep?”
Another says, “When you open the tap to wash in the morning, the water comes out and it stops in the middle in the middle of the shower, and also only hot water comes out.”
CPUT students say they have no where to go after they were evicted from Ekhaya Student Residence in Long Street, Cape Town. However, the VC says the students were not evicted. #sabcnews #SONA2026 pic.twitter.com/p9h8HnIulP
— lebotshangela (@lebotshangela) February 12, 2026
