South African universities are a microcosm of the society. Recent events at these institutions are symptomatic of a wider social malaise deriving from failure of social transformation and incomplete reconciliation and restorative post-apartheid justice.

The new wave of ‘looting’ of land and other natural resources will likely continue on a scale hitherto unknown. Whatever the supposed benefits of this trend, urgent attention ought to be turned to the thousands of people in Africa and other emerging nations who will become landless in the countries of their birth.