Duduzane Zuma laments that UKZN exclusion affects mainly black students

Duduzane Zuma says while there is “no doubt” that we are all equal, the majority of the students being excluded at UKZN are black. Picture: Nokuthula Mbatha/African News Agency(ANA)

Duduzane Zuma says while there is “no doubt” that we are all equal, the majority of the students being excluded at UKZN are black. Picture: Nokuthula Mbatha/African News Agency(ANA)

Published Mar 8, 2020

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Durban - The son of former president Jacob Zuma, Duduzane Zuma, says while there is “no doubt” that we are all equal, the majority of the students being excluded at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) are black.

Zuma made this observation on Friday at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine which is part of UKZN. This comes after visiting five campuses of the university as part of a whirlwind tour to hear out the “forgotten majority” that is “being ignored” by the management of the university.

He later told journalists that the situation was concerning and further pleaded with the management of the university to extend the registration period so that students could try to raise the needed cash.

“People want to break it down and say no, racial denomination, there is black, white, we are all equal, there is no doubt about it… If you take a look around, the majority of the people that are being excluded are black people. If you look at the queues at the offices, fees administration, it’s young black people. So I am here to lend my voice,” the soft-spoken Zuma said.

Furthermore, he said the people who are dealing with the issue are “clearly not doing enough” to resolve the matter and were shattering the dreams of the students.

Contrary to previous media reports that Zuma was offering R2 million to help bail out the over 4008 students struggling to get registered, he said that was not the case. He said he is facing financial troubles of his own as his bank accounts were frozen in 2017. The accounts were closed because of his association with the Gupta family as his company, Mabengela Investments, was in partnership with the family whose accounts were also closed.

According to Zuma, his role in the matter was getting it resolved by lending his voice and pleading with the university’s management not to slam the doors of learning for the poor students.

“I would love to contribute financially. There are issues of economic nature on my side and they come from financial institutions. It’s no secret. I have had my trials and tribulations, my bank accounts are closed. People have tried to take any angle to say if this money comes, where it is coming from, is it ill gotten gains and those long stories. So I don’t want to get into how much is coming from whose pocket.”

Political Bureau

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