STUDENTS and EFF members today vandalised and set alight the statue of CR Swart at the University of the Free State (UFS).
Swart was the last governor-general of the Union of South Africa from 1960 to 1961 and the first state president of the Republic of South Africa from 1961 to 1967.
Sasco regional chairman Bongani Slovo Zwane said: "Things got completely out of hand. Sasco has always been fighting against the system of white supremacy and we condemn the burning of buildings and breaking of windows. At the end of it all we must go back to class."
He said racism had always been a problem at the university.
A Varsity Cup match in Bloemfontein between the UFS and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University was called off on Monday night after protesters disrupted it by walking onto the field. Fights broke out when spectators ran to confront them.
Zwane said they did not know how EFF members and workers had got onto the campus.
The university gates have been closed following violence during a varsity rugby match last night.
#Striking students and workers at the Ufs #attempt to destroy CR Swart statue at the campus #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/AdHKrniag6
— Konelo Lekhafola (@LekhafolaKonelo) February 23, 2016
