Face of Fees Must Fall ruffles feathers

16 November 2015 - 09:45 By Kaunda Selisho

Destiny magazine's revelation of its December cover is being met with controversy as a number of Twitter users declaring #WeAreNotUlo #FeesMustFallNotOver. Destiny magazine began tweeting sections of the cover image early on Sunday evening, asking followers to guess who their December cover star is. This was later revealed to be University of the Witwatersrand Student Representative Council president, Nompendulo "Ulo" Mkatshwa, one of the student leaders who stood at the front lines during the early days of the countrywide Fees Must Fall protests. . while she actually abandoned FMF when we needed her most, when the workers needed her. #WeAreNotUlohttps://t.co/I8goHShDdv— Ingozi Emnyama (@MemelaJP) November 15, 2015async async So many people who contributed,let's not be too quick to be the face https://t.co/LGMs61fR8n— Mothekgi Mphahlele (@Mothekgi_Mp) November 15, 2015async While some were inspired by seeing her face on the cover‚ many others ensured that Destiny magazine knew exactly how unhappy they were about the fact that the cover made it seem as though she was being dubbed "the face of the struggle”.Critics pointed out that the protests for zero fee increases in 2016 and the fight for free tertiary education was a grassroots style protest that had been driven by students themselves across the country, and that no one leader should hijack it.A quote attributed to her - "I've always seen myself as the country's president" - also sparked antangonism, with reactions accusing her of being fame-hungry. @DestinyConnect I love it!! More power to #Iimbokodo— Luna Yekani (@lunayekani) November 15, 2015async Some even went so far as to accuse her of denouncing the Fees Must Fall struggle that she has seemingly been made the face of, though there was no supporting evidence for this.Mkatshwa also took flack for her headscarf in ANC colours - which she has worn throughout the protests - as the student protest was deliberately not aligned to any political party. Students at the University of Johannesburg even symbolically tied T-shirts from various parties together during the protest to symbolise that their cause spanned the political spectrum. async @mphoxx_@Unathi_Kwaza Ulo is a vulture,fame hungry. #WITSFMF was only 30 students after union buildings.She left us deserted. #WeAreNotUlo— FeesMustFallChief (@Gurl_Tshepiso) November 15, 2015async @mphoxx_@Unathi_Kwaza Ulo is a vulture,fame hungry. #WITSFMF was only 30 students after union buildings.She left us deserted. #WeAreNotUlo— FeesMustFallChief (@Gurl_Tshepiso) November 15, 2015async Destiny Magazine's publishing house, Ndalo Media, wasted no time responding to the criticism. They explained the reason behind their decision to lead with that story, stating that she deserved recognition as a leader in a national student movement. Ndalo Media proceeded to stand by their choice of cover star, and said they were committed to covering issues regardless of political affiliation. It added that its November issue had featured Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane.Nevertheless, the magazine said it had asked Mkatshwa to go with a more neutral choice in head gear, which she evidently declined to do.The Financial Mail pointed out in an earlier November edition that a conflict of interest was brewing over Mkatshwa.The magazine reported that the SRC's new president is also an employee of the ANC: She works as a researcher at Luthuli House when not attending lectures. However, the FM said, students who voted the 22-year-old into her new position were not made aware of this side of her life when she campaigned for the SRC presidency on an array of issues.“No fees” was not one of them...

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