Former SASCO Stellenbosch chairperson and current SRC member Sifiso Zungu speaks to Hloni Manare about his relationship with student politics and how the lessons he learnt from his past has helped him to create a better future for his community.
Sifiso Zungu’s name is well-known throughout the Stellenbosch University (SU) community, specifically for his support to students at the beginning of each year. He assists students (first year to final year) with various challenges, ranging from appeals from academic exclusion to securing funding and accomodation for the upcoming academic year.
But there was a time when education was a far thought. Instead, drug addiction and subsequent imprisonment put a stop to the dreams of this promising soccer player. Today, he hopes that his initiatives in community and youth upliftment will teach young people to not make the same mistakes he did.
Soccer, school and a dangerous path
Two years ago, Sifiso was the chairperson of the South African Students’ Congress (SASCO) Stellenbosch branch. His term was so well-received by SASCO members that he ran for a seat in the Student Representative Council (SRC) on the insistence of many of his peers who commended his leadership skills and his work on the ground.
However, Sifiso’s journey so far has been anything but smooth sailing. Growing up in Vosloorus, a township east of Gauteng, he was raised by a single mother who worked long hours as a domestic worker. He recalls how he enjoyed playing soccer with his friends and how he would get into trouble with his mother, Lindiwe, for staying out late. He often got punished for disobeying his curfew. “Sometimes I would do it knowing ukuthi uzongishaya [that she would punish me], because I was not always at home. I was not always well-behaved so uMa would take me to church, but it didn’t work,” he said. His passion for soccer began when he played with other young boys from other surrounding townships. But this also quickly became a gateway to alcohol usage and led him astray from soccer.
“You meet different people through soccer and I found myself beginning to drink through izindaba zebhola [connections made through soccer]. So, I quit soccer and became troublesome for a while,” he said.
Today, Sifiso strongly believes in excellence in education. He graduated with a Bachelor in Theology in April 2019 from SU and is currently pursuing a diploma in youth and community development. He remembers being a model pupil in his early school years, and was often referenced as an example to other learners who misbehaved.
“I would be the learner the teacher used as an example,” he said. He claims that he was a good student who was influenced by his extra-curricular activities, which eventually affected his schooling career.
The next phase of his life eventually built him into the person he has become today.
It began in Grade 10, where young boys who played soccer and bonded through the sport, became close. Sifiso’s priorities changed to “ukushela amantombazana nokuba amajita ekasi” [flirting with girls and being normal guys in the township]”.
Slowly the focus shifted to doing drugs. Sifiso said he began smoking a drug known as rock and soon thereafter, needed money to maintain his drug habit. According to Sifiso, this was when his family noticed it, except for his mother. She later found out through word of mouth. He became addicted and went on a downward spiral, which ended in his arrest and imprisonment.
Life after prison
Zungu credits his time in prison as what ultimately got him to stop using drugs. “I always say I was helped by ukuboshwa [being imprisoned],” he said.
After his release in December 2010, he moved to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) for a fresh start. With a new lease on life, he got a job as a gardener and decided to pursue further education, only after he made enough money. He befriended his employer, who was a professor and alumnus of SU, and was inspired by the work he did and the talks he attended. This motivated him to apply to SU. Thus began his relationship with the institution.
During his first year in 2014, SU had been involved in a language policy controversy. English-speaking students were against the presentation of courses in Afrikaans. At the same time, many cases of alleged racism and discrimination were coming to light.
Sifiso recalls a moment in his welcoming week where he was the only black person alongside a few coloured students compared to the majority of white Afrikaans students. During interactions and conversations, he had to ask to be addressed in English as he had no comprehension of Afrikaans. He remembers how him and his peers would often find themselves sitting together, reflecting on campus life and the events that were happening around them and shared their thoughts on the effects of the exclusion created by the language policy and their experiences of racism that went hand-in-hand with it.
He reiterated, however, that he was apolitical at that point, and was only interested in student recruitment.
Becoming a student activist
Sifiso’s official debut into student life and politics began through his involvement in the #OpenStellenbosch movement. This movement criticized SU’s slow attempt at transformation and called for access and inclusion of all students. As much as he supported the movement, he initially did not want to be formally involved.
“I did not have the drive where I felt ‘we need to challenge this. We need to speak about this’,” he said.
But this soon changed.
Eventually he became a part of the student leaders at the forefront of the organisation and was tasked with mobilisation. This was where he became involved with working with students on the ground. To this day, his reputation is closely linked to student politics and ensuring equal student access.
“I understand student politics when [students] open the fridge and there is only [margarin] in there. There is no other food,” he said.
Naturally, through friendships he had formed in the movement, he became a member of SASCO, thus initiating the Sifiso-SASCO relationship he is well-known for on campus.
“It’s true,” he laughs. “When you speak about SASCO, Sifiso always comes up.”
As soon as he decided to dedicate his time to the organisation, he was well-liked and was asked to become chairperson to breathe new life into the branch. Initially, he refused the offer and said that he did not feel ready to assume the position as he still enjoyed working on the ground.
“I didn’t want it to die out and for students to suffer,” he said. He enjoyed his time in the organisation. “It trained [me] politically and helped me understand the institution and I began reading up on various institutional policies. I saw it as my role to challenge those policies,” he said.
He served as chairperson from 2017 to 2018.
SRC and scandals (and the aftermath)
After Sifiso’s term as SASCO chairperson has ended, he set his sights on the SRC. He had the support of many peers. His subsequent election win brought hope to other students and himself as he now had access to structural assistance and resources to continue helping students register and receive funding and accomodation, often helping the most vulnerable.
But this was interrupted when he was accused of physical assault by his ex-girlfriend at the height of the anti gender-based movement in many South African campuses in September 2019.
He recalled when a friend from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) alerted him to a Tweet by his ex-girlfriend in which she accused him of assaulting her physically throughout their relationship.
“My friend sent me screenshots of what she had said, and other people’s responses. But I did not pay much attention to it. Then, I got a number of notifications on my phone of so many messages from the SASCO Stellenbosch group speaking about the accusations,” said Sifiso.
He and his then-girlfriend were going through relationship problems, he said.
After the incident, for the first time ever, he was afraid to go outside in Stellenbosch. At that point, he felt it was appropriate to release a statement, sharing his side of the story.
“At that time, I would agree that there was a lot of pressure. But at some point, I thought it would be something that would make me look bad if I stayed silent. It was not about what people thought about this whole thing, but about what the university would say,” he said. “All I wanted was a hug from uMa,” said Sifiso.
Ultimately, after an internal investigation by the university, he was acquitted.
Sifiso remains passionate about community development. While he plans to work closely with the university on the topic of student recruitment, he does not plan to sync his passion for community upliftment and his position in the SRC.
“I don’t want the SRC to get the credit for my projects,” he said. One of his projects includes getting school shoes for school kids who do not have or cannot afford them.
Meanwhile, he wants to continue to challenge the admissions process, to ensure equal access to tertiary education for all. All in a day’s work for Sifiso Zungu.
*Please note: This interview was conducted before the nationwide lockdown regulations were implemented.