Wits students: Police are targeting our leaders #CAPupdate

JOHANNESBURG – Wits University student leaders say they have decided to take a step back with their protest, saying they have received information that police want to arrest them.


The students held a meeting a short while ago and have now started dispersing.
“They attempted to arrest Vuyani Pambo, we managed to negotiate with them for his release. But we’ve been told they will be coming back for him, so we’ll be taking a step back to ensure that our comrade is safe.” 

Earlier police used rubber bullets to disperse a crowd who wanted to gain access into the hall, with student leaders hit a number of times by rubber bullets. Shaeera Kalla and Busisiwe Seabe have been taken to hospital. 
Wits SRC general secretary Fasiha Hassan says, “Shaeera was shot many times on her back, she’s being treated but it’s going to take some time for her to recover. Seabe is also in recovery, so far they’re both going to be fine.”
Hassan says they believe they’re being targeted by police.
“All student leaders are being targeted at the moment. We’re particularly worried about what happened just before Nelson Mandela Bridge, where police briefly detained Pambo as they tried to disperse the crowd.”
Students took their protest to the streets of Braamfontein, and are now back on campus.

Some students say they want to march around the campus and mobilise non-protesting students to join them, while others want to postpone their meeting to later today to discuss a plan for tomorrow.

Pambo says students were attacked earlier when they tried to enter the Great Hall.
“We wanted to enter Solomon Mahlangu House, but police reacted the way they did. They wanted to shoot us, so we decide to march around campus and organise ourselves.”
Police officers are on high alert with about four police Nyalas situated at the Great Hall.
Non-protesting students are going about their business. 

Meanwhile, the group of students, who demonstrated earlier at the Union Buildings, has now moved to the Pretoria Art Museum Park where they’re meeting.
Police set off stun grenades this afternoon to disperse the group, which had tried to force open a locked gate at the seat of government.

They’ve been no further incidents since the earlier deployment of stun grenades, which pushed back people who were trying to force their way into the main Union Buildings precinct.

#CityAlertPlus #CAP  

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