Tributes for struggle veteran, teacher and speaker, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, poured in on Thursday as South Africans remembered his contribution in fighting against the oppression of black people under the apartheid regime.

Thursday marked 42 years since his death on February 27 1978.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, the EFF, and Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi were among many South Africans who commemorated his life on social media.

Sobukwe joined the ANC Youth League in 1948 when he was a student at the University of Fort Hare. In 1958, he broke away from the party as it was becoming more multiracial in its membership.

He announced his split from the ANC the following year, during the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) gathering in Orlando. This after he was elected its first president, according to SA History.

Ramaphosa said Sobukwe and other fighters from his generation confronted apartheid and colonialism with a spirit of fearlessness.

In its statement, the EFF attributed its fight for land expropriation to his vision.

“Sobukwe taught us that Africa is not only a geographical location but a spirit that lives inside us, including those in the diaspora.

“He affirmed us that the fight for land is a noble one, because it is not a fight that is only rooted in history, but it is one that affects the present and has the potential to determine what the future looks like.”

Here’s some of the tributes:

Angry residents of Ladysmith, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, embarked on protest action on Wednesday. They gave the government an ultimatum: remove the local mayor or face a total shutdown

According to reports, roads leading in and out of the town were blocked off by protesters calling for the head of Alfred Duma local municipality mayor Vincent Madlala.

Police spokesperson Col Thembeka Mbele said community members had closed off Murchison St with minibus taxis and rocks.

“They handed over the memorandum to the municipality office, demanding that the mayor step down,” said Mbele. Andile Hlatshwayo, a convener of the protest, said residents would embark on a total shutdown of the town on Thursday if the ANC failed to recall Madlala.

“If Madlala is not removed or recalled by the 27th [Thursday], we are going to have a total shutdown. Nothing will be coming in, nothing will be going out of the town of Ladysmith,” he warned.

Hlatshwayo said they would not resort to violence but should the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) and KZN premier Sihle Zikalala not act on their demands, they were “not going to have them”.

The premier’s spokesperson, Lennox Mabaso, could not be reached for comment.

In May last year, Madlala’s son wasalong with his friend, while a third person was serious injured. Police at the time said two counts of murder were being investigated after Siboniso Mondli Madlala, 28, and his 29-year-old friend were killed.

The tragedy came three months after Oscar Hlatshwayo, 38, an executive director of engineering technical and infrastructure services at Alfred Duma local municipality, was shot several times in an apparent ambush after dropping his children at school.

A security guard was killed in clashes as neighbouring residents tried to force their way into the Coastal Park Landfill Site. Stock photo.
Image: 123RF/Petro Perutskyi
The city of Cape Town said on Wednesday there was no excuse for the violent acts and destruction of public infrastructure leading to the death of a security guard at the Coastal Park Landfill Site near Muizenberg.

The guard was killed last week after three days of “attacks” by members of the surrounding community who wanted to gain entry at the landfill site to salvage waste items of value as a source of income.

However, the city is not legally permitted to allow public access to landfills because of the risk of fatalities and injuries on site.

City authorities condemned the unjustified attacks.

“The city will support the police in every way possible in their task of identifying the guilty parties and having them appropriately charged,” it said.

Community members tried to enter the site on Tuesday last week but staff gained control of the situation and prevented their unlawful entry.

The number of people who wanted to gain entry grew substantially the next day with more than 100 trying to force their way in. The situation became violent when security personnel told them they were breaking the law.

“The group overpowered security staff and gained access to the property. Fires were started at multiple points of the site and weapons were fired at security personnel.

“The situation escalated and a security guard, who was trying to protect the facility, was killed in the line of duty,” the city said.

City law enforcement and police arrested four suspects who were taken to the Muizenberg police station.

The city said the fires remained a challenge, with the most recent one started on Saturday. “Landfill gases are highly flammable and can burn for a long time.”

It said while the fires continued to burn, the situation was being contained and the fires managed through a combined effort by law enforcement, the fire department and solid- waste management staff.

Additional security personnel had been deployed.

The city said the landfill had been the target of a number of attacks in recent years, with damage to compactors and bulldozers being more than R5m by October 2019.

The cost of damage to assets and infrastructure during the latest attack is yet to be quantified.

Protesting students blockaded the main entrances to UKZN’s Westville campus recently. Recent violent demonstrations have caused R31m in damage to the institution.
Image: Supplied
The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s council has implored stakeholders to help 1,435 students settle their R72m historic debt, a portion of which must be paid before they will be allowed to register.

“All stakeholders have been implored to work together to raise the funds required to immediately help these students with payments required prior to registration, and also the funds required to settle their historic debt during the course of the academic year,” the council said on Wednesday.

The council said the university “could not provide free enrolment to every unfunded student whose annual family income is below R350,000, when even government policy on fully subsidised higher education does not provide such funding”.

The council said it had taken into consideration the “financial and cash flow implications of the concessions that are already in place and resolved that any additional financial clearance concessions would be self-defeating for all concerned”.

“The council also noted and welcomed the student leadership’s commitment towards raising funds for the affected students and their pledge to contribute a portion of the 2020 SRC budget towards this,” the council said.

In recent weeks the university has been plagued by violent protests which included incidents of arson at some of its campuses, as students voiced their anger about the historical debt issue.

Students were required to settled 15% of their historical debt before registering for the new academic year.

Vice-chancellor Nana Poku revealed this week that the violent demonstrations had resulted in R31m in damage to the institution.

Duduzane Zuma reportedly pledged an “undisclosed amount” of money recently to help students after receiving letters asking for financial assistance.

In a viral video, Zuma can be heard pleading with the students to stop burning buildings

The university experienced protest action at the beginning of the year related to the poor state of some of its residences and a lack of availability. Mthembu said that, as it stood, the university could accommodate only about 4,000 students and the rest of its student accommodation was outsourced.

Overall, the university has planned capital expenditure of R653m — far more than the R179m it spent in 2019.

“This is a whopping 265% increase at a DUT, where there is a culture of sweating our equipment dry,” said Mthembu. “Our equipment must also be state of the art. We are exploring lease options for equipment such as computers and vehicles that have limited shelf-life.”

Mthembu reflected on the university’s “lowest moment” — the death of Mlungisi Madonsela who was shot outside the university, allegedly by a security guard, during clashes between students and guards.

“When I think about 2019, the lowest point was when we lost a student in an unfortunate incident during which a staff member and many others were injured or threatened,” he said.

“What happened last year could have been done differently. What we are trying to do differently this year is co-ordinate much better with our internal security and with police because of the difficulty last year.”

Madonsela’s death is being reviewed by an independent commission of inquiry set by the university.