SOUTH AFRICA: Students killed at uni protest

Police killed one student and injured scores during a protest at the University of Durban-Westville (UDW) in Durban on May 14. Witnesses believe that another student was also killed.

Students were demonstrating against the deregistration of 517 students unable to pay their registration fees. A class boycott had been launched the previous week and the UDW administration had locked out students.

Michael Makhabane was killed when police fired rubber bullets at a group of students they claimed were attempting to hijack a vehicle and had thrown stones at police. The UDW vice-chancellor said that the students has been “disrupting orderly campus life”.

Witnesses described the police claim as a lie. The witnesses, writing on the South African-based email list Debate, said that about 50 students were attacked as they fled. A student was killed as he was hit in the chest at point blank range by a rubber bullet. It seems he was not part of the protest.

Students, academic staff and cleaning staff gathered on May 17 to cover the blood stains with flowers.

BY NORM DIXON

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