On Tuesday, 20 September, mass student protests erupted across the country after Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande announced that universities can raise tuition fees by up to 8% next year.

When arguing the Nkandla case, President Jacob Zuma’s senior advocate, Jeremy Gauntlett, said that this was “a delicate time in a dangerous year, societally” and that the Nkandla saga has “traumatised the nation in many ways”- a profound statement which sums up the current state of mind of the ruling class.