Student leaders from the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) announced a 24-hour ceasefire on Wednesday as they were going to meet with the university management. The student leaders said the pause was requested by the vice chancellor to engage with them on Thursday to discuss their grievances. But the students said the meeting did not go as planned after the university refused to meet with them in the presence of their suspended SRC president Aphiwe Mnyamana.

NEW DEMANDS  

The student representative council's condition for the negotiation meeting was that the institution removes private security from campus and lifts the suspension of their leaders including their president Aphiwe Mnyamana. "Once these demands are met, the SRC will meet Wits management to negotiate. If the vice-chancellor wants to meet us then he must temporarily lift our suspensions so that we can go to that conversation. There won't be a meeting with the vice chancellor If all SRC members are not there," said SRC president Aphiwe Mnyamana. SRC secretary-general Tshiamo Chuma said, should the university fail to adhere to the demands, the students are willing to go back to the ground.

UNJUST SUSPENSION

SRC members said on Thursday that they had hoped the negotiation would include their suspended president, however, the institution declined. As a result, they refused to engage management. "This divide and conquer strategy devised by a management team that lacks foresight was to no avail. We refuse to legitimise the unjust suspension and removal of our current SRC president. Management has gone too far and the wounds they have left on student activism will never fade," SRC secretary-general Tshiamo Chuma said. They added that the management issued threats to all of them regarding incriminating and career-ending evidence that could be used against the student leaders at any given moment. "The management has revealed barbarism and true hatred towards the SRC. This institution has once again affirmed its disregard for the unfortunate student," Chuma added.

TALKS TO CONTINUE

Wits said in a statement to the students that the Vice-Chancellor and members of management met with the current members of the Students' Representative Council on Wednesday. "Both parties agreed to de-escalate the situation and to continue with engagements in order to try to resolve matters. We will continue with talks as we try to find a way forward. For now, the blended approach to teaching and learning will continue."