In photos: Wits violence spills into Braamfontein

University administration commits to staying open

| By and Photo Essay | Johannesburg
Photo of man in front of burning bus
A protester stands in front of a burning bus in Braamfontein.

Protesters at Wits University encountered a heavy police presence this morning. The university is determined to stay open. A senior academic told GroundUp this afternoon: “We had significant disruptions today but we’re operating and classes are going on, albeit with low attendance. Students and staff were seriously intimidated this morning.”

A statement by the Wits Executive Team at 6pm says that the university will be open on Tuesday.

A pastor who was mediating on behalf of student protesters tries to calm the situation after clashes broke out on the steps of the Great Hall. 
A protester throws a rock at private security guards inside Wits. 
A police officer fires rubber bullets at protesters. 
A police officer takes aim as another takes cover.
Blood drips from the eye of a student after she was hit by a rubber bullet.
People watch the running battles from the Wits Art Museum. 
A student tries to calm the situation after clashes broke out at the Great Hall. 
Protesters form a human chain to prevent police from advancing.
Protesters run for cover as police release a stun grenade. 
Protesters throw a teargas cannister in the direction of private security guards. 
Students affected by teargas cover their faces. 
Protesters run away from police as teargas and rubber bullets are fired in Braamfontein.
People take cover on the streets of Braamfontein as police prepare to fire rubber bullets. 
Police arrest a man in Braamfontein.
Protesters block the road in Braamfontein as the protest shifts from Wits. 
Protesters attacked this man in the streets of Braamfontein. It is unclear why. He was rescued by a student leader who calmed the crowd before police dispersed them with teargas. 
This bus was set alight shortly after this photograph was taken. 
Firefighters try to extinguish the fire consuming a bus as the protests spilled out onto the streets of Braamfontein.
Protesters run away from a police Nyala in Braamfontein. 

All photos by Ihsaan Haffejee.

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TOPICS:  Tertiary Education Violence

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