Rhodes Must Fall fires back on unrest

18 November 2015 - 02:41 By Tanya Farber,Farren Collins and Jerome Cornelius

As protests continue on Cape campuses, the Rhodes Must Fall movement has denied allegations that it is trying to destabilise the country. Four workers demanding in-sourcing were arrested at Stellenbosch University yesterday. On Monday about seven protesters tried to disrupt an exam at the University of Cape Town. The University of the Western Cape and Cape Peninsula University of Technology have been shut down after violent protests.The ANC-aligned South African Students' Congress produced a voice clip last week calling for a revolution. On it, an unidentified man who is allegedly a member of the UCT Rhodes Must Fall movement indicated he had been mandated to propose a national strategy to "capitalise" on campus unrest.He suggested the occupation of "key points" such as Parliament and the Union Buildings.Screen grabs of messages on the Rhodes Must Fall WhatsApp group three weeks ago revealed a call for general destabilisation; indicated that their funding came from outside the country; and said violence was on the agenda.ANC Western Cape spokesman Jabu Mfusi said a "third force" was clearly at work.But Sabelo Skenjana from UWC Fees Will Fall rubbished these claims, as did a Rhodes Must Fall member who said yesterday she did not want to be named because threats had been made on her life.She said the movement had started with the call for fees to fall and not a zero increment on fees. It would continue with protests for free education and to see "all barriers to education" removed.The movement was also challenging all injustice in South Africa, including racism and land distribution."To think that RMF is solely responsible for the protests around the country is politically naive. This is the result of 20 years of dissatisfaction [with] the state by the majority of South Africans. Many have mobilised and started their own groups."Last night, Stellenbosch University criticised the "illegal and unacceptable behaviour by protestors on its campus", where it said the atmosphere was still tense. Additional reporting Aron Hyman and Aphiwe Deklerk..

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