Students protest outside Bremner Building at the University of Cape Town. Picture: TREVOR SAMSON
FStudents protest outside Bremner Building at the University of Cape Town. Picture: TREVOR SAMSON

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THE effects of the University of Cape Town (UCT) protests have gone beyond the campus, resulting in condemnation by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA).

The agency has expressed "deep concern" over reports of the "destruction of heritage resources during protests and‚ recently‚ by protesting students at the University of Cape Town‚" said spokesperson Thomas Khakhu.

Artworks were burnt in protest on Tuesday night after a shack erected on campus was meant to be torn down. A violent stand-off ensued between the protesters and security after the art was taken from Fuller Hall and burnt.

"SAHRA would like to implore South Africans of all walks to desist from destroying the cultural heritage that is part of the South African identity. The destruction of heritage objects‚ particularly those associated with the history of SA‚ deprives future generations of our cultural heritage‚" said Mr Khakhu.

Five works by artist and apartheid activist Keresemose Richard Baholo were among the pieces destroyed. Mr Baholo was the first black student to receive a master’s degree in fine art at UCT.

"Artworks and other objects depict a period in the history of SA and although South African history is embedded in colonialism and oppression that may have resulted in objects associated with those periods being frowned upon by some‚ their destruction does nothing to champion the cause of those involved in protest actions‚" said Mr Khakhu.

The protest faced condemnation by the university too. Fritha Langerman‚ director of the Michaelis School of Fine Art‚ called the loss "particularly tragic"‚ particularly the work of Mr Baholo.

"These paintings‚ produced during 1993‚ are part of a valuable archive of a period in our collective histories‚ and have been used in several courses to teach about ways in which the past is signified in the present‚" she said.

"Our students deserve equal opportunities‚ and we recognise‚ and decry‚ the failure of government to provide adequate resources to ensure this is possible. However‚ destroying artwork impoverishes us all‚" she said.