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Prior to a press briefing on Wednesday following protests in Cape Town, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said ‘if the students don’t accept this, we’ll start our own movement. Students must fall’ before he burst out laughing.
eNCA.com reported that altough it was made to be a joke it has drawn a large amount of comment on social media with #StudentsMustFall trending.
Nzimande previously said that the national protests were not a national crisis with protesting students rejecting the 6% university fee increase cap he proposed.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education and Training Khaye Nkwanyana, said Nzimande was very angry about the video posted by eNCA. He said that the comment was meant as a joke for those present at the press conference.
“I was presiding over that press conference and he was just joking because he was being teased by the vice chancellors present and the student representatives. Everybody was just laughing and we were not aware that the cameras were switched on at that time.
“This is cheap journalism on the side of eNCA and we going to take it up with the owners of eTV. It’s just nonsense what they did and it’s clear that their intention was to damage the ministers image. We are writing to the press ombudsmen. This matter will not be treated lightly,” he said.
Watch the video supplied by eNCA.com here:
