Prof Sethulego Matebesi, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of the Free State (UFS), recently delivered his inaugural lecture titled Breaking chains: overcoming tainted transactional pathways in community leadership, representation, and activism. 

The lecture, held on 9 September 2025 on the UFS’s Bloemfontein Campus, was attended by Odwa Duda from the Office of the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) in the Free State, members of UFS senior management, colleagues, and family of Prof Matebesi. 

Introducing his address, Prof Matebesi noted that his presentation drew partly from his forthcoming book, Community leadership, representation, and activism in South Africa, scheduled for publication in 2026. His lecture explored the scholarship of community leadership and activism, while critically examining how clandestine incentives from state and private actors often undermine the integrity of social movements. 

A departure from co-optation and clientelism

Prof Matebesi explained that existing theories of protest in South Africa are often framed within two interrelated concepts: co-optation and clientelism. 

“Both concepts are crucial for understanding how power is maintained beyond formal institutions, especially in the context where the former rule of law is contested,” he said. 

However, he argued for moving beyond these frameworks, introducing the concept of “transactional activism”: 

“While highlighting the contingent and contested nexus between co-optation and clientelism, transactional activism, by contrast, is marked by an explicit negotiation. Activists or challengers accept perverse incentives in exchange for moderating their demands or aligning with established interests. This form of activism involves a strategic and pragmatic engagement with power – but one can distort activist agendas and community representation.”

He added that transactional activism embeds clandestine exchanges of material or symbolic benefits into the fabric of social engagement. While this may increase participation and responsiveness, it also risks commodifying activism and limiting transformative potential. 

To illustrate, Prof Matebesi drew on three case studies: the 2011 Ficksburg water protests that led to the death of activist Andries Tatane, the 2014 “no road, no school” protests in Kuruman, and the ongoing conflict in Jagersfontein over local ownership of mining operations. 

Key lessons from the lecture

In conclusion, Prof Matebesi emphasised that communities are highly localised contexts and remain vital arenas of agency. They are shaped by the interplay of compelling needs, scarce resources, historical grievances, and competing visions for the future. 

Responding to the lecture

Serving as respondent, Prof Susan Booysen, Director of Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, praised Prof Matebesi’s contribution.  

“This exploration captured, admirably so, the depth and breadth of Prof Matebesi’s scholarship,” she said. She further noted that the lecture represents a significant milestone in his academic journey as a multidisciplinary scholar: