Rhodes: thousands to march at UCT

Thousands of supporters are expected to join a march by University of Cape Town students to demand transformation at the institution and to demand the removal of the Cecil John Rhodes statue from its upper campus.

The march is set to take place on Friday, with students planning on marching on the vice-chancellor's offices.

The Cape Times reported that the students will be joined by thousands of supporters from the ANCYL, EFF, Ses'khona People's Rights Movement and other student bodies from acrosss the province.

The row over the Rhodes statue started earlier this month when a group of students dumped human waste on the statue. The group said that they were trying to highlight the way black people were being treated at the university. The group has since covered the statue in black bags and vowed to keep it covered until it meets with the university council.

Since then, the protest has snowballed into a debate on transformation at the country's universities. Students at Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape are also supporting the protest at UCT.

UCT vice-chancellor Max Price earlier this week said that he would personally like to see the statue removed but not destroyed.

UCT spokesperson Gerda Kruger said that the university is preparing to meet the students.

"The executive is preparing to meet the students, and the hope is that the engagement may lead to further discussions," Kruger was quoted as saying in the Cape Times.