JZ’s Marikana remarks repel
STUDENT: ‘IS HE SAYING MINERS’ LIVES DON’T MATTER?’
That’s not something we want to hear from the president. But let’s wait for the Marikana report and see what it says TUT student who requested anonymity
EFF and ANC supporters clash on the TUT campus as they wait for the president to address them.
Tshwane University of Technology ( TUT) students who are members of the EFF and the ANC yesterday hurled insults and traded blows in a chaotic build-up to President Jacob Zuma’s visit.
Varsity student Thembisile Nikelo, who was wearing EFF regalia, described the events leading to the clashes at the Soshanguve campus in Pretoria.
“In the morning some of our members were mugged and their regalia burnt. When we entered the venue, they started swearing at us, saying they don’t want us here. We came to listen to the president of the nation not the ANC,” said Nikelo.
Apparently the scuffle broke out after EFF members started chanting “pay back the money” in apparent reference to demands by their party that Zuma must pay for non-security related upgrades at his private Nkandla residence.
Just moments before the president arrived at the venue, a group of EFF supporters were chased by ANC members. An unidentified man ran into the crowd holding a knife.
Another clash broke out as Zuma was escorted into the hall, flanked by several deputy ministers and TUT vice-chancellor Gwen Ramokgopa.
Nikelo, who was hit in the face by a stone, said: “Those ANC supporters threatened to kill us. They told us Malema is causing problems in parliament so we will not do it here. But we didn’t come here with any malicious intention except to listen to the president.”
Zuma managed to deliver his speech without interruptions, but his comments about the police using force to deal with violent protests did not sit well with some.
Zuma said: “You should lead by example and not use violence to solve problems. We don’t want the police to use violence to stop violence.”
The remark prompted an angry retort from a man in the crowd who shouted “they killed people in Marikana”.
Zuma responded saying those who were killed by the police had killed others and the police were stopping them from killing more people.
Student Adele Hlongwane said she was shocked at the president’s remark. “What is he saying? That the lives of those miners don’t matter? No ways … he can’t be serious.”
Another student, who requested anonymity, said: “That’s not something we want to hear from the president. But let’s wait for the Marikana report and see what it says.”
Zuma acknowledged the shortage of student accommodation and the problems the students face. “Bathrooms at female residences have been refurbished. However, the conditions in some of the male residences require attention,” he said.
He said the “critical shortage” of accommodation was being addressed by the department of higher education, which has relocated students who were squatting in a university residence.
Zuma said he had been made aware that a shack at a local church housed more than 70 students.
“The fact that students become destitute rather than go back home if they have no accommodation demonstrates how seriously they take education as a weapon that will take them out of poverty.” –