Walter Sisulu University closes 3 campuses amid 'violent' student protests

The Walter Sisulu University (WSU) in the Eastern Cape shut down two more of its campuses on Friday due to violent student protests over an accommodation shortage.
University management resolved to close the Butterworth and Buffalo City campuses indefinitely following the outbreak of violent protests that damaged property and put lives at risk, said university spokesperson Yonela Tukwayo.
She said the decision followed vice-chancellor Rob Midgley's decision to close the Nelson Mandela Drive campus in Mthatha with immediate effect on Thursday.
Only one of the institution's four campuses remains open.

She said the "rampage" at the Mthatha campus was "boisterous and irrepressible", which left Midgley with no choice but to stop all administrative, teaching and learning activities in order to protect the university's assets and "above all, lives which includes the students' lives".
"It saddens us to close the campus because the dire financial situation of many of our students does not allow them to travel back home. But we cannot keep them on campus because their safety is not guaranteed. We also know that there are many students who do not support the violent nature of the current protests," she said.