Rekgotsofetse Chikane chatted to Ashraf Garda on SAfm’s The View Point about his fascinating book, Breaking A Rainbow, Building A Nation, which explores the politics of the #MustFall movements.

Chikane spoke about how the protests were reported on differently depending on the university – or not reported on at all:

‘If UCT has a protest the same day as UWC has a protest, UCT will be highlighted [in the media]. If Wits has a protest the same day UJ has a protest, Wits will be highlighted. And that was showcased during Fees Must Fall.

‘At Wits, much of the protests were contained on campus, with a few excursions into the rest of Braamfontein. At UJ – police officers when they fire rubber bullets are supposed to shoot up into the air or down into the floor – at UJ, there is a video of students at a vigil, during Fees Must Fall, who are being harassed by police officers, and eventually police officers lose their patience, which happens more often than it should, and as students are running away, police officers start shooting directly at them, in their backs.

‘I remember seeing that video and being like, this is going to be front page news tomorrow morning, because this was a slow day for Fees Must Fall, but that was historically just marginalised. It didn’t even reach the newspapers.’

Listen to the interview:

 

Categories Non-fiction South Africa South African Current Affairs

Tags Breaking a Rainbow Building a Nation Pan Macmillan SA Podcasts Rekgotsofetse Chikane Soundcloud