Durban news: Eighteen people have been arrested on charges of public violence after students marched in central Durban on Sunday night.
About 300 Durban University of Technology (DUT) students took to the streets, said police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala.
“At approximately 21:20, Durban Central SAPS and National Public Order Police responded to a student protest along Dr Pixley Ka Seme Road. Approximately 300 DUT students were blocking West Street,” she said.
When police tried to disperse the crowd, they threw stones at the officers, Gwala said.
“Police arrested 18 students for public violence. They are expected to appear before the Durban Magistrate’s Court (on Tuesday),” she said.
Some social media posts showing students marching down the street, chanting, claimed the gathering was in support of former president Jacob Zuma. However, EFF KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Vusi Khosa said there had been no protest and students had been mobilising around upcoming student elections.
“They were mobilising, going from residence to residence, to encourage students to vote,” he said.
On Sunday, the Department of Correctional Services announced that Zuma had been placed on medical parole.
The Constitutional Court sentenced Zuma for contempt of court after he refused to testify at the State Capture Inquiry, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
Zuma has only spent two months of his 15-month jail term in prison.