When power stops fearing protest, silence wins. This is a wake-up call on how South Africa’s loudest weapon is being disarmed.
Democratic South Africa was born through struggle. Its foundations were laid not in conference rooms, but in the streets carved out by those who refused to be silent. From the 1976 protest against the government’s policy of using Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in schools for Black students to the 1994 apartheid conquerors who got the first taste of freedom, the story of this nation has always been written in protest.
We protested against apartheid. We protested against economic exclusion. We protested for transformation in our schools and our institutions. In each case, protest was the only language those in power could not ignore.
We are a people who know those in power only listen when they are threatened, often violently. And it has been the history of our country’s leaders who respond not to the polite murmur of petitions but to the thunder of marching feet and tires burning.
But what happens when even that language starts to lose its meaning?
Protests have become more frequent and more urgent, yet they are ignored. Communities rise to demand water, electricity, housing and dignity, and yet these demands are met with the same routine: a visit from officials, a statement to the media, and a fake promise of “investigations”. Then, silence.
These issues persist, the cycle continues, and people begin to feel that speaking out changes nothing.
We can all remember the protest of 1976 when young people confronted the might of the apartheid state with nothing but conviction and clarity. They stood together because they believed in the power of their collective voice.
More recently, #FeesMustFall reminded us that protesting could still unsettle the powerful, but even then, the demand for free, decolonised education was diluted, redirected, and largely ignored.
I think the problem today is that the protest itself is being neutralised. Institutions have learnt to co-opt movements, to divide people, and offer symbolic gestures while preserving the status quo by either suspending, expelling or even criminalising protest action. A meeting here and there, tools to manage dissent without ever dealing with the problem.
Along with the above, the rise of individualism has made people easier to divide. In the age of likes, followers, and branded activism, the collective power that once drove our revolutions is fast fading.
We are now in a period where movements become moments and action becomes content. And real transformation is replaced by representation without change.
Institutions, both political and academic, have learnt to exploit this. They divide and conquer, selecting a few voices to ‘engage’, elevating individuals while ignoring the masses. In doing so, they extinguish the flame of the collective, turning urgent demands into manageable noise.
This is how protest dies, not with suppression, but with performance. Not with silence, but with strategic listening.
The tragedy is that we are living in a time when protest is needed more than ever. Economic inequality continues unabated. Corruption is a daily headline. Basic services have collapsed in many communities. And yet, when people rise, their voices bounce off a system trained to survive outrage.
We must remember that protest is not a problem. It is a pulse. It tells us when a democracy is in distress. To dismiss or defang a protest is to allow injustice to deepen in silence.
The choice is simple: either we rebuild the collective strength that once brought down giants, or we continue to shout into the wind while power pretends to listen.
Ten years after students demanded change, The Fall is back on stage, bringing the unfinished fight for free, decolonised education back under the spotlight.
The play returns to The Market Theatre, features three original cast members and new talent.
Performances ignite the stage from April 9 to May 4.
A post-performance dialogue raised the uncomfortable question “was it worth it?”, as students continue to face barriers to decolonised and accessible education.
A powerful reimagining of The Fall, an internationally acclaimed protest play, opened at The Market Theatre in Johannesburg on Wednesday, April 9. The award-winning production challenges systemic oppression by spotlighting the voices and experiences of students who, in 2015, took to the streets demanding that the government make good on its promise to open the doors of learning and culture.
The play was originally created by eight University of Cape Town students in the aftermath of the #RhodesMustFall movement and the toppling of the statue of colonialist Cecil John Rhodes. Running until May 4, the new production is being presented by theatre company, The Theatre Duo, and Wits Drama for Life. It reunites three of the original student creators with a fresh cast, reworking the script and staging for a new generation of audiences still grappling with access and transformation at universities.
Opening night’s post-performance dialogue brought these issues to life. Wits University student Mzizi Khulu said, “We’re inheriting the same mentality of our forefathers. We’re still complaining, striking, and protesting. Do we really feel that Fees Must Fall mattered at all?”
Conversely, University of Johannesburg student Mpho Moilwa said, “We’ve been trying, we’ve been striking, we’ve been putting our bodies on the line for this movement, and nothing is changing.”
Students have their say on the impact of the Fees Must Fall movement. Photo: Mbali Khumalo
The Fall’s raw, collaborative format brings authenticity to the stage, blending personal testimony with performance. Sizwesandile Mnisi, original writer and cast member said, “When we first wrote this play, we inserted a lot of ourselves, along with research and archetypes that we saw in the movement. Doing this play ten years later, I too feel a sense of hopelessness that it can still speak so loudly. It’s beautiful that it resonates, but it’s also a problem that it does.”
Audience member Philadelphia Sithole emphasised the importance of theatre in recording our history. “We almost forgot Fees Must Fall. This piece is so powerful because it forces us to question what kind of society we want to have,” she said.
The Fall is a powerful reminder that the fight for access and decolonisation in higher education is still unfinished.
FEATURED IMAGE: Drama for Life Creative Research Hub Director, Hamish Mabala Neill, facilitates the post-performance dialogue. Photo: Mbali Khumalo
The eight students that were arrested during protests on Monday at Wits University were released today on warnings at Hillbrow Magistrates Court and will be required to reappear in court next month.
The charges brought against them include public violence, contravention of a court order, malicious damage to property, assault and possession of a dangerous weapon.
Fellow students and families sat behind the dock awaiting for student protesters Zimbali Ncube, Marola Mathabatha, Siyabonga Bongani Mathebula, Edwin Mokhali, Jonathan Paoli, Sabelo Melane and Thabiso Nhlapo to be called upon.
The courtroom responded in shock and tears were shed by loved ones as the young men were handcuffed on entrance.
Court proceedings started out with the state opposing bail for the eight young men as some of their residential addresses were not verified.
But the students’ lawyers, Advocates Sizo Dlali and Andries Nkome argued successfully that since some addresses could not be immediately verified then their proof of registration would suffice as evidence that they were not flight risks.
Accused number two, Zimbali Ncube, would have spent another night in custody as the verification of his address was not as successful as the others. Magistrate Herman Visser was adamant that he did not want any student to stay in custody unnecessarily.
The state then proposed that each student be released on R1000 bail but this was argued against by Nkome.
“I don’t want to start sounding like a broken record your Honour but these students cannot afford bail,” argued Nkome. The students are still dependant on guardians and parents he said.
The magistrate then released them on a warning. As the eight walked out cheers could be heard outside and fellow students welcomed them in song.
However, The Wits 8 are to return to court on November 2 as the police are said to still be investigating their cases.
The South African Union of Students (SAUS) has said they will be looking to discuss issues of free education directly with the Presidency than through the Commission of Inquiry into Free Higher Education.
This comes after the first day of the Commission’s public hearings in Pretoria.
SAUS deputy secretary general Fasiha Hassan said they wanted the direct line because they were disappointed with the commission’s lack of political power to discuss issues of free higher education.
“SAUS is now looking towards creating a direct line with the president of the republic, particularly because this is a presidential commission and when we raise issues, stuff around decomodification, stuff around how to realise free education, we are often told that we now have to take it back to the president,” said Hassan.
She added that “If we are not going to be talking to a commission without political will then we have to take it straight to the top.”
Student activist Tasneem Essop also questioned the Commission’s purpose on Twitter.
“I don’t understand, surely #FeesCommission should be finding a feasible model for free education & not checking if free education is feasible,” she said.
The commission of inquiry was established in January by President Jacob Zuma following #FeesMustFall protests where students demanded free higher education and training. The commission was expected to submit their findings in eight months, however two weeks ago the Presidency said they would extend the due date to next year June 30.
The commission is expected to submit a preliminary report on or before November 15. The public hearings are set to continue today in Pretoria and will end in September in Kimberly.
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