A 31-year-old woman was hit by a rubber bullet fired by police outside the Robin Crest residence in Saratonga Avenue, Johannesburg, during a student protest on Tuesday.
Margaret Titsi and her sister were crossing the street at traffic lights when police demanded that they clear the road.
”We told them we were not students but it was too late because they had already opened fire on us,” her sister, Mpho Titsi, said.
Margaret Titsi was shot in the leg and was rushed to the nearest hospital.
Earlier on Tuesday University of Johannesburg (UJ) students demanded that the police be removed from the scene. Three students were injured after police opened fire with rubber bullets.
These contradicted reports by police, who said there had been no injuries.
One of the three students was rushed to the hospital in the same ambulance as Titsi.
Johannesburg police spokesperson Constable Sefako Xaba told the Mail & Guardian Online on Tuesday afternoon that police had opened fire on the protesters to ”ensure the safety of property and motorists passing through”.
He also said the students had emptied rubbish bins and set the rubbish alight in the middle of the road.
Lazarus Maunatlala, Student Representative Council president for UJ, said it had been a peaceful march. He said the police had asked them to disperse — they refused — and then the police had opened fire. Some of the students then responded by throwing stones.
‘Core business’
Meanwhile, UJ said its Auckland Park and Bunting Road campuses had been closed on Tuesday and would remain shut on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Sonja Cronje said the university’s management executive committee had decided to resume the ”core business” of the affected campuses only on Thursday.
Cronje the university management was still awaiting a formal list of grievances relating to the protest actions over the past two days.
On Monday the university was granted an interim interdict to prevent the disruption of academic activities, damage to the university and the intimidation of students and staff during the protest.
The African National Congress Youth League’s Zizi Kodwa said the organisation was calling on the management of the university to suspend its decision to increase fees.
”This must be done to allow further consultation and to restore normality for a conducive climate of discussion among all stakeholders including students,” he said.
All parties involved must return to the negotiating table and commit themselves to finding an amicable solution, said Kodwa. – Sapa