University of Cape Town (UCT) on fire.

Unbelievable, but it appears my alma mater is on fire.

I don't have much news, but here are some pictures, and several other landmarks were burnt too.

ewn.co.za...

Now I don't want to jump to "divine retribution" or anything like that, but just 7 days after a black lecturer was defended for saying Hitler committed no crime, because he did it against white people.
www.iol.co.za...

Yeah, I know all the context and whatever excuse.
The kind of constant ultra-leftist pap I won't even usually post.
But maybe, once you start thinking that way, you don't deserve a university.

Apparently the fire in the wider Newlands forest was started by vagrants?

a reply to: halfoldman

It's really bad. I'm sitting on Lion's Head side Greenpoint at the moment.

Driving here this morning I could still see the fire raging.


For our foreign friends, an explosion was reported yesterday at the restaurant at the Rhodes memorial. The fire spread from there to the University of Cape Town.

There was already a very hot wind blowing yesterday.

The science lab was destroyed and last I heard the music department was also burning.

originally posted by: halfoldman
Apparently the fire in the wider Nederlands forest was started by vagrants.

I didn't know that. FFS.

a reply to: 19Bones79

Not sure myself, even the news is pretty chaotic.

I was actually just nicely sozzled to go to bed.
I wasn't expecting this at all.

Oh no! That was such a beauty! Only have seen it from outside, but thats a tragedy!

The reading room?
Oh Lord not the reading room!

www.aljazeera.com...

An arrest have been made.

a reply to: halfoldman

A man has been arrested - Arson

However, knowing SA's system of arrests ... possibly just some person they picked up.
Probably too early to say.

In SA, would I honestly think arson could be used as a political means?

I'd have to say yes, absolutely.

Although at this stage the catastrophe is just as likely to be natural and seasonal.

After all, fynbos is meant to seasonally burn.
en.wikipedia.org...

Although since its founding in 1829, I've never heard of a fire on the largely stone-built upper campus.
The idea that a seasonal fire might set the library ablaze, would have been quite preposterous.
But yet, it clearly happened, for whatever reason.

Well the "special collections" seems to be gone:

Firefighters battled into the night to try salvage the University of Cape Town's Jagger Library after a runaway fire quickly spread to the campus on the slopes of Devil's Peak on Sunday. According to the UCT website, the Special Collections library consists of printed and audiovisual materials on African studies and a wide array of other specialised subjects, as well as more than 1,300 sub-collections of unique manuscripts and personal papers. The collection of books and pamphlets exceeds 85,000 items on African studies alone. It is understood that some material has been captured digitally.

www.timeslive.co.za...

Oh no, the fires are spreading?!

As expected, celebs slam those "celebrating" UCT fires.
I mean I'm glad "celebs" are speaking out, but as expected, some think these fires are great.
www.timeslive.co.za...

Ah UCT, the memories.

The one day I took the train just to hand in books, and once on campus there were thousands of people having some political rally.

Next thing something went DOOF, DOOF!
It was just the two gardeners throwing their shovels in the van, never-mind the students protesting for their freedom.
But people thought it was gunshots (as I interpret it), and next thing everything goes wild.
Some people start throwing stones (in various directions, I might add), everyone's screaming, and the cops are starting to shoot tear gas.

Run to the library - run for your life.
Up the stairs and grab any book and pretend to read.
Now this was still the old apartheid police.
And they came up the stairs, and they looked at the books, and randomly threw them on the floor.
"This is nonsense, this is nonsense, this is rubbish".
My heart was racing ... what am I going to tell my parents?

But then they felt like a cigarette and left.

a reply to: halfoldman

And just as firefighters managed to contain the UCT blaze, resources had to be diverted to another fire on Devil's Peak.

Seems to always be a Devils name involved.

Ai, hierdie eenvoudige happy clappies wat ooral hulle stront saai weet darem nie mooi wat in die wereld aangaan nie ne. Donerse idioot.

originally posted by: SeaWorthy
a reply to: halfoldman

And just as firefighters managed to contain the UCT blaze, resources had to be diverted to another fire on Devil's Peak.

Seems to always be a Devils name involved.

a reply to: Beestie

Dis alles Liewe Heksie se skuld.
O Here, hoekom het ons vuur om Tafelberg?
Want julle kyk rugby, en suip en rook zol en dans op die heilige Sondag.
En as ons ophou?
Dit moet die Here maar self dophou.