A Walter Sisulu University student has died after falling from a building at the Mthatha campus.
The incident happened on Monday, as more than a thousand students took the streets in a violent protest against their alleged exclusion from campus.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela, says some students had gathered on the roof of a building to watch the protest, which started early this morning.
Its understood that the 20-year-old male student from Bizana had fallen through perspex sheeting on the roof of the six floor building.
Fatyela says police had to use rubber bullets to disperse students who stoned police and other vehicles, burnt tyres and papers and damaged property, including several police vehicles.
No police members were injured.
Fatyela says five students were arrested on charges of public violence.
Meanwhile, Walter Sisulu University management has expressed outrage at the death of the student.
"The University community extends deepest sympathy to the family and mourns the tragic and unnecessary loss of a young life,", said WSU spokesperson, Angela Church.
"In spite of the engagements held between the Office of the Administrator with the Executive Committee of the Interim Institutional Student Representative Structure and concessions made on the various issues raised as explained in a previous statement on the student disruptions, the situation has deteriorated further at the NMD site.
"Access to the campus has been barricaded and staff have been denied entry. In the light of this situation the Nelson Mandela Drive site is temporarily closed with immediate effect till further notice. We sincerely regret this decision and its resultant inconvenience to all staff and students," Church said.
"In the light of the background and processes outlined above, the student protests organized by the NMD site interim student leadership were an unnecessary act of defiance which sought to revive and perpetuate the old culture of instability at WSU. We reiterate our earlier commitment to ensure that the national mandate of turning WSU around becomes a success. The call to rebuild WSU to save taxpayers' money and parents' financial investments and sacrifice for the education of their children is a mandate we cannot allow to fail," said Professor Lourens van Staden, WSU Administrator.
