14 August 1968
More than 200 students at the University of Cape Town (UCT) embarked on a "sit in" to protest against government intervention that forced the university to rescind on its appointment of Archie Mafeje (a Black academic) as senior lecturer in the Department of African Studies at the UCT. Over 1000 students and staff later joined this protest and demanded cessation of government intervention regarding university appointments. Students at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Rhodes and Natal also joined the protests. Wits students took the matter further by marching to the Union Buildings to hand in their letter of protest. University of Pretoria students attacked Wits marchers, preventing them from reaching the Union Buildings.    
References
  1. Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.

  2. South African History Online, Archie Mafeje, [online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za,[Accessed: 20 August 2013]|

    University of Cape Town, The Mafeje Affair, [online], Available at www.uct.ac.za, [Accessed: 20 August 2013]

    Hirson, S.B.  Year of Fire, Year of Ash, p. 69