WATCH | Fort Hare students chased from residence ahead of lockdown

Fort Hare University has again come under fire over claims that the university unceremoniously evicted foreign students from residences at its Alice campus in the middle of the night ahead of the lockdown that started at midnight on Thursday.

This after a video was shared showing guards shouting while chasing crying students out of a building.

Fort Hare SRC president James Nqabile said they were disappointed to hear that foreign students were forced to sleep in the cold because they were allegedly kicked out of the premises by security guards.

Nqabile, who spoke to DispatchLIVE on Friday, said that the university management were not even aware of the incident taking place.

“It is disappointing to hear that the person who took this decision took it on her own and kicked out the students out of the premises. These are foreign students who have no relatives and this is embarrassing, to be honest. The management were in the dark about this,” he said.

Nqabile said there were 30 students from Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Nigeria who were affected.

“We had 10 females and 20 males who found themselves in this situation. They were forced to sleep in the cold Eastern Cape weather," said Nqabile. “This needs to be attended urgently. I had to field calls as early as 1:30am and I would not rest until I know that they get accommodation and plans are made for them.”

He said Amathole District Municipality (ADM) had intervened and obtained them transport to and accommodation in East London.

ADM spokesperson Noni Vuso said: “The students were assisted by the university. The ADM Executive Mayor assisted by engaging the university to expedite the process.”

No comment had been received by the university at the time of publishing.