Phenias F. Sadondo: They Called It Academic Genocide Part 6

Now the Dean started with a question that was not welcomed by many. He asked, “What’s your problem?”. We found it sarcastic and ironic. So he couldn’t see? He couldn’t read? Notices that fees have been hiked, and was going to be paid in foreign currency - greenbacks, were now plastered everywhere at the university including the Dean’s Complex. Does he need someone to remind him that, I wondered in silence. Before I could find the most appropriate words to politely condemn him in my mind, I found myself subconsciously running together with everyone else. I was in the middle of everyone and couldn’t see what was going on. I could have cursed my vertical restrictions but I took solace in my functional instincts. I don’t really have to see it, I just need to feel and sense it. I comforted myself. I ran in the direction the mob was taking. My instincts told me there was an intruder. Our gathering was unsanctioned by the police according to the provisions of POSA.

It didn’t take me time to confirm the presence of the police - the intruders, armed with shields, batton sticks and tear gas canisters. I lamented and cursed my curiosity. I should be gone by now, I regretted. As we tried to run uphill towards Manfred Residence, we were called back by some firebrands who had assumed leadership of this protest. They instructed us not to run. They reasoned that running was an admission of guilt, of which we were not. They also wanted us to stand our ground and appear resolute and unshakeable in the eyes of the police officers. The other reason why the leaders didn’t want us to run was that there was nowhere to run to. Nowhere! Any attempt to run was going to be easily contained - or crushed - and leave many casualties. The area was confined, in addition to being uphill, and the police had already encircled it. To show, maybe fool, the police that we were determined and dedicated to the cause, a song was quickly composed and thrown for everyone to sing along. Songs in such circumstances are not difficult to compose, let alone to sing along. Soon we were all flowing. ‘Hatikwate, hatikwate, hatikwateee officer!!’ (We are no afraid of the police). The officers just watched and said nothing. They couldn’t sing along. We didn’t expect them to. Battle lines were drawn…

The Dean went and spoke with them briefly and came back to address us. “Order! Order please!”. “i-demo mdhara - (this is a protest Sir), not a church meeting”, somebody next to me retorted as if to tell the Dean not to expect order from events like protests. “Should we settle this as a group or I should take your representatives for discussion?” It wasn’t really a question. He knew what he wanted. We also knew it. It was, however, curtailed immediately. ‘Group! Group! Group!’, the students responded. The Dean, still pushing for a private discussion with the leaders, went on; “Okay, we will discuss as a group here but I still want your representatives for further deliberations”. The ‘No’ was unequivocal. “Group! Group! Group!”. The chanting didn’t end until when the Dean yielded. “Fair enough. So you don’t want to pay 400 US dollars? It is too much, of course. So how much do you want to pay?” Some waved $50 billion notes, but they were drowned by those who were shouting, ‘No topup, No topup!’. Their argument was that we had already paid, and the university had assured us that no services were going to be charged in foreign currency.

It got too much for the Dean who disembarked the bakkie and disappeared into the complex. Probably he went back to his office. The stage was left for the leaders who gave instructions that we were going back to NC6 to continue with our peaceful demonstration. Some were calling for Geology to be applied since Ideology had failed. I dreaded and sweated at the thought of geology. The ideology concept is dispute resolution through negotiation whilst geology is the use of violence, in this case, stones, in conflict resolution. Nobody really wanted geology and the leaders were quick to reprimand those who called for it. But it didn’t last...