The #FeesMustFall protests have had a ripple effect on students, law enforcement, members of the public and government around the country – and uUniversity students who support the protests are affected in more ways than one.
A University of Johannesburg (UJ) third-year psychology student, Kagiso Nkosi said that students are frustrated. This after a fellow student, 21-year-old Kelvin Baloyi was allegedly murdered by a member of a private security company in the early hours of 5 November.
“We embarked on a peaceful march in order to hand over a memorandum to UJ for the removal of private security on campus and also in honour of the student who was murdered. We expected the memorandum would be accepted, instead, we were met with threats,” said Nkosi.
“Some of our leaders have met Kelvin’s community members and family friends, who were shocked to see how his death was received by UJ. They came to support the memorandum handover but were surprised to see police [allegedly] harassing students.”
He added that he decided to study psychology because he believes it’s one of the most powerful tools in society and wants to ultimately challenge the notion of culture-bound syndromes.
Baloyi believes his studies are affected by his financial situation, more than anything else, and although the protests did set him back, he does understand why they are necessary. “As much as people think the protests are useless, they have won a few battles.
“The idea of free education is now being discussed on a regular basis and I now have a bit more hope. It will get better for the poor in our country, as long as we are willing to protest, even under threat.
“We will change this country.
“I plan to write my final exams that begin towards the end of this month. This was a tough year but, hopefully, it ends on a better note and I wish my fellow students good luck.”
