DUT accommodates walk-ins for one night as EFF and management squabble

The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Winterton residence will house scores of walk-ins that flooded the university on Monday.

Nkululeko Mzobe, the EFF Student Command (EFFSC) chairperson at DUT, told the walk-ins gathered at Steve Biko campus’s S8 building that the EFFSC-led student representative council had reached an agreement with university management to accommodate them for the night after a long day of negotiations.

This was despite DUT, like other KZN universities, reiterating last week that they would not allow walk-ins even though they were extending registration and postponing commencement of lectures by a week.

Despite this, scores of students flooded the campus building to either register or make enquiries about their applications.

The walk-ins who spoke to TimesLIVE said they had come because of a Facebook post — allegedly from the university — they saw over the weekend saying walk-ins would be welcome on Monday.

The now-deleted post was shared by EFFSC member Nhlakanipho Maphalala to a group named “DUT SRC led by EFF”.

The university distanced itself from the “malicious statement”, calling it fake news.

“DUT has noted with disbelief the malicious fake news communique circulated in social media platforms, calling for walk-ins, parents and students to report to the University for registration. DUT did not issue a statement calling for walk-ins or first years to register on campus,” the university said.

DUT registrar Dr Maditsane Nkonoane said it was three EFFSC leaders who mobilised civilians to forcefully enter the university under a false promise of in-person registration and accommodation.

“This morning three EFFSC leaders mobilised 400 civilians to assemble outside DUT’s gate 3 at Steve Biko campus. The three members allegedly promised the civilians face to face registration and allocation of student residence accommodation. These civilians were encouraged by the EFFSC leaders to force entry into university premises without authorisation,” said Nkonoane.

The university said the group attacked protection services personnel at the campus and damaged a door at the S-block building.

“The group also invaded the S-block exam hall and damaged computers and intimidated staff. Furthermore, doors were also broken by the same group at Winterton student residence on Steve Biko campus,” the university said.

Officers from the Berea police station were called to the scene.

“The SRC has condemned and distanced itself from this act of criminality,” said Nkonoane.

Mzobe said the registrar’s claims were false, because the same security personnel they are said to have attacked were with them throughout the day.

“The police did come in the morning ... We stayed there with students until around 5pm when we took the walk-ins to the residence. Security were present at gate 2 and even offered sanitiser to everyone coming in. They were present at the S-block building where the students were gathered for hours and they are present at the residence right now, opening the gate for those entering or leaving,” said Mzobe.

He said the police would have chased them out if they had done anything wrong.

“Now tell me, why would police not come and evict us at S-block, where we stayed for hours, if we had done anything wrong? When has that ever happened?”

Mzobe said he was not surprised that the SRC is said to have distanced itself from events.

“The institution is silencing the SRC. So they suspend you and exclude you from meetings and decision making, so you can’t do your job and the students end up with no representation. That’s why SRC will not be making many statements to the media.

“But we can speak, there’s nothing much they can do to us. They won’t suspend us for speaking out.”

TimesLIVE