SOUTH AFRICA’S communists vowed yesterday to defend riot-hit universities from “anarchy, violence and sheer destruction” for the rest of the academic year.

Their intervention came as “Fees Must Fall” protesters broke windows and doors and threw human excrement around buildings at the University of Cape Town in a bid to prevent it reopening in the wake of previous demonstrations.

The joint statement by the South African Communist Party (SACP) and Young Communist League (YCL-SA) followed a weekend summit in Benoni, east of Johannesburg.