Prayers and protests on Kovsies campus

While some University of the Free State students prayed for peace on Wednesday, a group of workers stood singing and chanting a few metres away. 

Student pastor Fanie van der Walt said they started praying after the Monday night brawl between students and spectators at the Shimla Park stadium in Bloemfontein.

"On Monday night, after the main protest, we took some of our black and white students to defuse the situation. The violence is a negative thing. We don't need it, but it is an opportunity to change people's hearts," he said.

They intended praying throughout the day and expected more than a thousand people to join.

Walter Motsamai, of the students and workers forum, said they could not join the praying. They wanted the university to employ workers like cleaners and gardeners directly, instead of using outsourcing.

"From the beginning our mandate was to strike. We didn't come here for prayer. When we pray we will accept anything without taking action," he told News24.

"We will be singing here and demonstrating our frustrations and struggle, and this is not about race," he said.

The protests against outsourcing began last week.