A moerse brawl involving security guards and photographers took place in front of students celebrating their graduation at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) on Monday.
As students and parents were standing for graduation pictures just outside the main hall of the Bellville campus, four guards and three men with cameras clashed.
According to CPUT, the photographers did not have accreditation for the graduation ceremony and had been warned to stop taking pictures, but refused.
One of the cameras was broken during the fight.
In a 95-second video which has been viewed over 40 000 times on Facebook, two security guards fight with two photographers.
As one guard is beaten to the ground, two more guards join the fray, hitting and kicking the photographers.
Screams can be heard from some onlookers while some students and their parents appear min gespin and continue taking photos.
As guards wrestle the two photographers to the ground, a third photographer, dressed in a black jacket, comes in with a flying kick, hitting one of the guards in the face.
The guards knock him down.
A photographer in a blue top steps aside and takes pictures, but the camera of a photographer in a red top can be heard cracking as it hits the ground.
The latter two photographers are clearly flou gemoer and the one in the red top staggers as he walks to the guards, apparently to complain about his broken camera.
Media liaison for CPUT, Lauren Kansley, confirms the incident and says: “The safety and security of our students and their family members are our foremost concern and a dim view is taken of any attempt to disrupt this special occasion.
“It is worth noting that, at the time, the photographers in the video did not have the appropriate accreditation to operate on campus. The service providers used during graduation have all been appropriately vetted through stringent procurement processes.
“This is to avoid students and loved ones being taken advantage of by unscrupulous characters.”
She says the unaccredited photographers were warned to stop and an investigation into the matter is underway.
“The photographers in this instance were warned to stop operating on campus by the head of Bellville campus security,” adds Kansley.
“Our director of campus security will be compiling a full report on the incident and it will be investigated thoroughly.”