Students injured at CEO sleep-out protest

A number of students were injured and one was reportedly arrested as police fired rubber bullets and teargas at protesters who attempted to disrupt the annual CEO Sleep-out happening on the Nelson Mandela Bridge this evening.

The #SouthPointSoRidiculous campaign which is protesting the high cost of living at South Point student residences in Braamfontein attempted to reach the Mandela Bridge where CEOs are spending the night to raise awareness about the plight of homeless people.

The protesters gathered in Braamfontein earlier in the afternoon and blocked the flow of afternoon traffic leading to a heightened police presence in the area. Teargas and rubber bullets were eventually used to disperse the protesters led by the Wits (Economic Freedom Fighters) EFF resulting in the injury of a few students including Wits EFF branch coordinator Kokesto Poho.

#SouthPointResProtest one student gets arrested at the protests in Braamfontein. He gets pulled away by police. KS pic.twitter.com/FUVlVUuY5x — EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) July 28, 2016

Catherine Seabe, one of the Wits EFF student leaders, said the protest had planned to disrupt the CEO Sleep-out which included South Point CEO Ndumiso Davidson.

Earlier in the week, the protesters handed a memorandum of demands to Davidson and received a written response from the company earlier this afternoon.