The Rhodes Must Fall Movement In South Africa

INTRODUCTION

When University of Cape Town(UCT) student Chumani Maxwele, in March this year, started protesting alone against the presence of Cecil John Rhodes’s stature on campus, with a sign around his neck, at face value, he looked ridiculous and his one- man demonstration, seemed like just one of those typical student protests that will feezle out in a no time.
However, the reality proved to be opposite. This seemingly insignificant act by one student ignited a wave protest and gave birth to a powerful student protest movement called the Rhodes Must Fall movement or RMF. As a result of all this, we are still beginning to understand the impact of this individual act of bravery and its ramifications.

In this brief essay we propose to look
RMF exposed the fact that UCT had the statue of a colonialist, Cecil Rhodes, on its premises and had a hall named after Rhode’s right hand man, Leander Jameson. Both Rhodes and Jameson were responsible for the gross killing, humiliation and suffering of Blacks in South Africa and Southern Africa. According to Rhodes’s architect, Herbert Baker, Rhodes used the land he took from Blacks and donated it for UCT to be built. His imperial conquest stretched as far as Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Through the RMF, all of this came to the fore. The RMF also exposed current discriminatory practices against Blacks, women and workers at UCT. So, the RMF was able to give a number of those who were regarded as voiceless at UCT-a voice. But also, those UCT students or staff members who didn’t know certain things about their university-became aware of these injustices through the RMF.

Impact at other
It has given not just students a voice, but all the groups who consider themselves marginalised in the South African society, have been able to identify with the RMF. It has also reopened the debate on the transformation of higher education and in particular the fight against racism, sexism, capitalism and related discriminations in higher education and society. The RMF has not just inspired a generation-is has possibility defined an era. For this and other reasons, the RMF will continue to be a significant political moment in South Africa for a long time. In fact, it may not an exaggeration to draw comparisons between the RMF leadership and it leaders may rightfully be compared to the leaders of the Soweto student uprising of June