Thursday, 16 June 2022 — New Frame

The uprisings of 1976 and the Fees Must Fall protests of 2015, almost 40 years later, were important turns in the continuing fight for the true emancipation of a majority of South Africans.

Even though the 1994 settlement was an important political moment, it did not do much to dismantle the systems that propped up both colonialism and apartheid. The security apparatus, for example, still exists to exert control, to protect power, to protect capital. And the path to a better life for many of the country’s people is full of obstacles, many of which are structural. These are systems that were designed to benefit a few. That pattern remains. Until such systems are removed, South Africa will know no progress or equity.

Archive footage: Tseliso Monaheng and ANDYMKOSI.