Rhodes Must Fall and the incongruence of academic freedom and decoloniality

This study explores the rise of decolonial-styled politics within the University of Cape Town and the University of Oxford and the natural limitations of this form of politics within the ambit of academic freedom as understood by both universities. Leveraging the Rhodes Must Fall movement as a case study of translocal student activism which emerged at both institutions, the paper underscores the necessity of delineating the pursuit of decoloniality within the university into two constitutive components: decolonial thought and decolonial action. The paper argues that without this delineation, the decolonial projects within universities will remain inept.