UKZN student election dispute erupts into violence

Protests over disputed student representative council (SRC) election results turned violent at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) Westville campus on Monday, with students clashing with campus security personnel.

Footage circulating on social media showed groups of students, some wearing red T-shirts, confronting university protection services officers, African News Agency reported.

The videos captured physical altercations, with security personnel restraining individuals as tensions escalated. Security vehicles and law enforcement officials were also deployed to contain the unrest.

The confrontation followed SRC elections held on 8 and 9 October, in which the South African Students Congress (Sasco), aligned with the ANC, emerged as the dominant student organisation across UKZN’s five campuses.

Supporters of the Economic Freedom Fighters’ student wing subsequently challenged the results, alleging irregularities in the voting process. No official findings substantiating those allegations had been reported.

IOL said it had approached UKZN for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

However, Magic 828 subsequently reported that the university had identified at least one alleged instigator as an individual who was not registered as a UKZN student.

The university declined to speculate on the reasons behind the disruption, noting that the incident occurred days after the SRC elections had been successfully conducted, with the results announced on Friday evening.

The university had not indicated whether disciplinary or criminal proceedings would follow the confrontation.