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Police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at protesting Rhodes University students and arrested 13 people outside a graduation ceremony in Makhanda on Friday as tensions over a proposed student debt policy escalated.
About 100 students gathered outside the 1820 Settlers National Monument, where the university was holding its spring graduation ceremony, to protest against proposed new rules governing outstanding student fees.
[LISTEN] Rhodes University says it is addressing SRC concerns as a student alleges that protest disruptions have left some students without food and feeling unsafe.
: Supplied#UpdateAtNoon #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/hTlcVccUxW
— SABC News Radio (@SABCNews_Radio) October 2, 2026
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said Public Order Police acted after protesters failed to comply with a High Court order and warnings to disperse.
The 13 students arrested were aged between 19 and 23 and were charged with contravening a court order. Police said no serious injuries were reported.
Students, however, disputed the police version of events, saying they had been sitting on the grass outside the Monument with placards and were not blocking access to the venue.
One student told SABC News that protesters were given five minutes to leave after police read the interdict before officers moved in.
The protest came two days after the Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda granted Rhodes University an interim interdict restricting unlawful protest activity following disruptions on campus earlier in the week.
The order applies to SRC president Thalethu Magidela, several other named respondents and people associating themselves with conduct covered by the order. Police were authorised to enforce it. The matter is due back in court on October 27.
Friday’s gathering was not formally sanctioned by the Student Representative Council.
In a statement later on Friday, the SRC described it as a “silent protest” organised by an unidentified group of students and reminded students that the interim court order remained in force.
The SRC also appealed to police to take students’ vulnerability into account and said violence should not be used to resolve the dispute.
The unrest centres on Rhodes University’s proposed student fee-payment protocol for 2027, which introduces tougher conditions for students carrying historical debt.
Under the proposed system, indebted students would face restrictions on access to academic results and transcripts, while students seeking to register for a new academic year would have to settle debt or enter approved repayment arrangements.
Students who still owe more than R25,000 after making the required upfront payment would generally not be allowed into university residences unless they have confirmed NSFAS funding.
Students have called for the university to abandon the withholding of academic results and transcripts and to increase the residence debt threshold from R25,000 to R75,000.
The SRC has also proposed a sliding repayment system under which the proportion students are required to pay upfront would depend on the amount they owe.
Rhodes has argued that tighter controls are necessary because mounting student debt is putting pressure on the university’s finances.
The university said students owed it R321 million in 2024, while its audited 2023 financial statements showed that provision for student debt regarded as unlikely to be recovered had increased from R24 million in 2022 to R91 million.
The dispute initially brought activity on the Rhodes campus to a halt earlier in the week.
The university said students had blocked access for employees providing essential services, including food preparation, residence cleaning and water provision, prompting management to approach the High Court.
However, talks between the university executive and the SRC on Wednesday evening appeared to have lowered tensions before Friday’s confrontation.
Rhodes said the discussions had produced significant agreement on some issues, while others required further financial and operational assessment. Further negotiations are expected next week before recommendations are submitted to the University Council.
University spokesperson Olwetu Gwanya declined to comment directly on Friday’s arrests, referring questions about the police operation to SAPS, but said Rhodes remained committed to continuing discussions with student representatives.
Friday’s graduation ceremony went ahead despite the protest and arrests.
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