The preliminary finding of the urgent investigation into the fire on the Qwaqwa campus of the University of the Free State indicates that the two buildings were intentionally set alight.
That’s according to police and the university’s protection services. The university says the fire broke out on Monday night.
Two buildings which housed a clinic and a computer laboratory were almost completely destroyed.
The damage to both buildings is estimated at R35-million. One student has been arrested. Efforts are under way to identify more suspects.
NSFAS issues could have been the cause
Earlier, it was revealed that the buildings were allegedly set alight by students who have had been protesting over National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allocations.
Free State premier Sisi Ntombela has condemned the burning of two buildings at the University of the Free State’s QwaQwa campus.
The university has also condemned the incident, saying the behaviour was not viewed as protest action, but as criminal acts.
In the post below, a user on Twitter posted a video of the fire as it happened:
Ufs qwaqwa campus currently on fire …students fighting for nsfas allowances#NSFAS #petrol#FamilyMeeting pic.twitter.com/XYvlRCp0zl
— M’s gee (@wangy_gee) April 4, 2022
