"Nobody Wanna See Us Together" (South African struggle song associated with the 2015/206 Fees Must Fall movement)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update: Nov. 14, 2022

This pancocojams post showcases three YouTube video of the South African song "Nobody Wanna See Us Together", a struggle song that is associated with South Africa's university students 2015 and 2016 "Fees Must Fall" movement. 

Some of this song's lyrics and other comments from these YouTube videos are also included in this post.

This post also includes some definitions of South African slang terms and other sayings that are included in some of these comments.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/09/south-africas-fees-must-fall-student.html

for a pancocojams post that presents information about South Africa's Fees Must Fall protest movement and information about struggle songs in the Fees Must Fall movement.

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The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.Thanks also to all those who were involved in the Fees Must Fall movement and thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and to thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS & COMMENTS

Video #1: Nobody wanna see us together

Mbulelo Ngqobe, January 22, 2015

-snip-
Selected comments with numbers added for referencing purposes only:

1. Chulumanco Macingwane, 2016

"this is one of the SICKEST I've ever heard"

-snip-
"Sickest" here is an African American Vernacular English term meaning "the best".

**
2. tiisetso kekana, 2017

"EISHHHH! AYABABABA!"
-snip--
From https://banananewsline.wordpress.com/about/a-handy-guide-to-speaking-south-african/

"Eish! (pron. /aysh/ but also, less often, as /ish/) – A term of resignation; Used to express everything ranging from frustration to surprise to disapproval, but also just everyday acknowledgment of things you can’t change like “Eish, the traffic is bad today”. Heard frequently each and every day! Also used to indicate displeasure, for example: “Eish, what’s going on here?”"

**
3. Zamabhida, 2018

"on a serious note.. who's this guy mara"

https://banananewsline.wordpress.com/about/a-handy-guide-to-speaking-south-african/

"Mara (pron. \mah-rah\) – but (eg. ‘mara why?’ – ‘but why?) [from the Afrikaans word ‘maar’ meaning ‘but’]"

**
REPLY

4. T T Digoamaje, 2018
"Abednego Mosiatlhaga"

**

5. Snehlanhla Makua, 2018
"nobody wanna see us together that is the truth"

**

6. Lora beatx, 2018

"Wow ☺😊inspiring"

**
7. Amogelang Leshabane, 2 018

"this actually reminded me of high school sports trips 😥❤"

**
8. gabriel banda, 2018

"the guy leading the group iz just amazing and this is really good for team bond"

**

9. Jamaul Joseph, 2018
"This is absolutely Amazing!!!! Just a casual, on the fly jam session.....but soooo good!"

**

10. Angelo Martins> 2019
"Thanks for the SA women's soccer team for introducing me to the world of "igwijo"."

-snip-
"Nobody Wanna See Us Together" is a Fees Must Fall struggle song. Some struggle songs are sung as gwijos.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/09/online-information-about-south-african.html for a pancocojams post on gwijos ("amagwijos"; "igwijos")

**

11. Lesego Ranyabu Ledwaba, 2020
"Then it's 2020 I am back again.. His voice brought me back😂 💥💥😍🤩 Everytime when I am down I come here" **

12. wandile Brian, 2020
"Just search "Stellenbosch Singing" you get more videos of him singing"
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellenbosch_University

"Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa"...

**

13. Mbasa Dyantyi, 2020
"The guy leading the song play for Ajax CPT now I think. I recognise his face"
-snip-

"Ajax Cape Town" is a South African professional football  [soccer] club. 

****

Video #2: FMF 2016 Nobody wanna see us together - Yamkela Gola ft Wits Students

Paulos Lekala Marutha, Oct 14, 2016
-snip-
Selected comments with numbers added for referencing purposes only:

1. Mzokhona Nkala, 2017
"what I love about South Africans even if they are under oppression they always sing and dance. this song is the best struggle song so far"

**

2. BONKE XAKATHA, 2017
"Wow the Talent and the Creativity at its best while protesting..wow"

**
3. jnrndlovu15, 2017

"amazing collab yamkela Gola & wits students.

list of songs in order:

1) Akon - dont matter (nobody wanna see us together

2) Rebecca malope - my mother

3) Mafikizolo - masthokoze

4) Chris Brown - don't judge me

5) Bob Marley - buffalo soldier

#FeesMustFall

 -snip-
This comment lists the titles of the records whose lyrics are excerpted to make the song "Nobody Wanna See Us Together".

Notice the international sources for these songs. Akon is a Senegalese American singer. Rebecca Malope and Mafikizolo are South African singers, Chris Brown is an African American singer, and Bob Marley is a Jamaican singer.

**

4. Kagiso Sekgothudi, 2017
"Is the portion at 1:00 a popular song?"

**
5. REPLYDIDINTLE SECHOGELA, 2017
"yes i think its a song by mafikizolo"

**
REPLY6. Yolanda Radebe, 2017
"Kagiso Sekgothudi mas'thokoze is the name of the song I think"

**
7. Mzo Mnikathi, 2017

"he was a buffalo soldier  dread lock rasta stolen from Africa brought to america"

**
REPLY
8. Mamla Tomson, 2019

"That is my favourite part 😍😭😭"

**

9. Sphume TheBlaqMirror, 2017
"Babaningi babaningi abantu!!!  aaah man love being South African!"

**

REPLY

10. Tshepo Sepadile, 2020
"Babaningi abantu, babaningi abantu

Bengidlel' umona

Beth' uzongishiya

Wena' uzongilahla..."
-snip-
Google translate from Zulu to English"

“There are many people, there are many people

I was jealous

Beth will leave me

You 'will forsake me”

**

11. makumbi k2, 2017
"we (students )of this country will achieve free education in our life time"

**
12. Xolani Themba, 2017
"hahahaha I that part "no please don't judge me etc and he was a Buffalo soldier born from africa ayayababa ayayababa"

**
13. lytidoro, 2017

"One of the sickest Song of Fees must fall , So far"

**
14. Nqobile Hadebe, 2017

"I'm watching this because i got an assignment that needs a touch on Fees Must Fall and damn the front guy completely made me lose my focus... the assignment will have to wait! cant stop myself from watching this!!! :) :D"

**
15. dzeep ndlovu, 2017

"One will day we will inherit this continent, the struggle must stay strong....aluta..we still slaves, we just transformed to modern day slaves."

-snip-
From http://africaaccessreview.org/2017/04/38715/#:~:text=Aluta%2C%20a%20word%20used%20by,later%20against%20harsh%20African%20regimes.
"Aluta, a word used by many Africans to mean “struggle for freedom and liberation” comes from the Portugeuse phase, “A luta continua, Vitoria e certa”- the struggle continues, victory is certain. The word was commonly chanted during protests against colonial oppressors and later against harsh African regimes. College students throughout Africa shouted Aluta! during peaceful demonstrations and movements of mass resistance."...

**
16. Mpumalanga Zwane, 2017

""Let me tell you about the story of my life" with  this video, I watched it many times and keep coming back"

**

17. Vanesa Khorombi, 2017
"I think i have a crush on this guy...Lord mercy upon me...#crushing"

**
18. CHUSTA, 2017
"who watched this more than once n started to sign along ??"

**

REPLY

19. Sue Ndlovu, 2018
"i love this song i made sure i know the lyrics"

**
REPLY

20. Motlhalefi Christopher Ramotsebe, 2018
"looool, im still working on that"

**

21, savage Rossy, 2018
"this guy can sing yoooh bathong❤❤❤😥😥"

-snip-
I think that "yoh" ("iyoh") is a South African exclamation of surprise and/or an exclamation of appreciation and approval that is similar to the English word "wow".

Google translate from Zulu to English: "bathong"="people"

**

22. Keorapetse Radibe, 2018
"Oh nkosi yam! This song just evokes emotions that I can't even describe. Aluta! What started in 2015 by the name of # FMF was not in vain. We will arrive at the promised land, maybe not today, not Tomorrow but ultimately we will...I am proud to be a Wits student but I am even prouder of being part of the youth-we were called for such a time as this. As for you Yamkela-ae suka mahn comrade Zahara, u are doing the things!  Ayabayabayabayabayabaya"
-snip-
From https://www.indifferentlanguages.com/translate/zulu-english/oh_nkosi_yami

"oh nkosi yam= oh my goodness" (oh my Lord)

**

23. Tshepo Mashabela, 2018

"We are the fees must Fall Generation🙌"

obed mabuse, 2018
"You gotta love SA❤✊😢

ISH Africa unite#Mzabalazo#"

-snip-
Google translate from Zulu to English: Mzabalazo= The struggle

**
24. Buhle Bongo, 2017

"I use to say these kids if they dnt want to study they must go home but after watching this video I couldn't hold the tears in my eyes the pain of swing South African kids fighting for their rights.

Fight until you get what you want......these fat cats are wasting money with useless things some of graduates are jobless and the interest of their Nsfas loan is growing every year.when they get job they will be working for Nsfas...............I know the feeling that you are going through.....keep on fighting we are behind u zintsana zasemakhaya"
-snip-
Google translate from Zulu to English: “zintsana zasemakhaya” = “domestic babies”
-snip-
Here’s information about NSFAS from https://www.gov.za/services/tertiary-education/apply-financial-assistance-national-student-financial-aid-scheme-nsfas
“Are you in need of financial assistance to study at a tertiary institution? Apply for a National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursary.

NSFAS is a bursary scheme funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training for those who do not have the financial means to fund their studies and cannot access bank funding, study loans or bursaries.”…

**
25. Lindelwa Mpilwenhle Dlamini, 2017

"Fees will fall, my heart will fall for this brother even. Mayibuye!"

-snip-

From https://dsae.co.za/entry/mayibuye/e04629
Mayibuye- A rallying-cry of the African National Congress (see ANC noun1), especially in the phrases Mayibuye Afrika, Mayibuye iAfrika or Afrika Mayibuye, ‘Come back Africa’, ‘Africa, may it return’. See also Operation Mayibuye. Cf. Afrika interjection.

1949 E. Hellmann Handbk on Race Rel. 491It was this paper..that was largely responsible for popularizing the stirring slogan, Mayibuy’iAfrika (Let Africa Come Back).

1990 Pace May 4As the whole world cheers, black, white and yellow say in unison, ‘Mayibuye I Africa’."...

**
26. benedict mbadu, 2017

"You killed guys the struggle continue."
-snip-
"Killed [it]"= African American Vernacular English term meaning "You did an excellent job".

** 

27. ncega mncedić bayana, 2017
-snip-

Google translate from Zulu to English: "Siyabonga icreativity" = Thanks to creativity

-snip-
"bayana" may be the same as the Zulu word "bafana" meaning "boys".

**
28. Vuyisanani Mafuya, 2017

"africa must unite in other to reach free education"

**
REPLY 

29. Kamal Clifton, 2019
"I agree. Not just free education but to command and dictate. This place has all the world's wealth and Africans are sitting by and watching the barrels rollout in front of them."

**
30. Wild Life, 2017
"BIGGEST STUDENT MOVEMENT AFTER APARTHEID"

**

31. Wandile Nzuza, 2017
"somebody get this guy a record label"

**
32. Modiehi Mahase, 2017

"As our VC in police custody said, "Songs liberated South Africa". We will remain united!"
-snip-
"Our VC [vice chancellor] here refers to  student activist Mcebo Dlamini who declared himself the new ‘vice-chancellor’ of Wits University when the actual vice chancellor postponed a planned University general assembly. Read this article   

https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/1308251/watch-mcebo-dlamini-the-new-vc-of-wits-university/

**
33. Virginia Madisha, 2017

"This guy's voice!!!!😄😄"

**
34. The Nutritionist, 2017

"This is Beautiful :-)"

**
35. nqobile malunga, 2017
"He sings while smiling 😍😍😍"

**
36. Selloane Molutsi, 2017

"The lead singer though,I think I'm in love with him...😍😍😍😘😘😘"

**
REPLY 

37. Yo2dalanda, 2017
"i know xctly how u feel..."

**
38. Mayenziwe Zondi, 2017

"he sings it so beautifully. . . 😢😢😢"

**
39. Amanda Ntibane, 2017

"The guy in the white t-shirt at 00:58 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂"

**
REPLY

40. Maisha Molepo, 2018
"hahahaahahhahahahaahaahaahhaha"

**
REPLY

41. Lebohang Monkhe, 2019
"Lol yey he's feeling just as much as we are if not more😂💯🔥🔥"

**

42. Luyanda Gumede, 2018
"l so love my school..  everything is so real and music makes everything seem possible"

**

43. oolz deMaestro,  2018
"Wishing this Guy all the Best in life.After He was screwed By Wits after the original FMF protest.

Yamkela YOu Will rise Bafana.

The revolution comes at a Grate cost"
-snip-
Google translate from Zulu to English: Bafana= boys

“Grate” typo or misspelling for the English word “great”

**
44. King Made Official, 2018

"Growing up and seeing Sarafina in Ghana ,i was convinced all South Africans can sing, Can all south Africans sing?? Any S.A ppl here"

**
REPLY 

45. Palesa Orlyn, 2020

"Most people can sing

As a nation we sing when we sad, we sing when we happy and even when we bored or chilling. It's in our blood"

**
REPLY

46. maSamu, 2020
"😂😂I'm horrible at singing so that would be a No."

**
REPLY
47. vuyokazi sodinga, 2020
"Im from South Africa 🤣🤣🤣 I think anyone can sing but its a matter of singing well❤❤"

**

48. Laura Vermeulen, 2018
"love this song it touches my heart"

**

49. Miey Tetelo, 2018

"His voice always brightens my day. #Yamkela Gola"

**

50. Bongani Mahlangu, 2018
"bathong  this guy"

**51. Mamsy Zondo, 2018
"he killed it"

**
52. Zoliseka Maliti, 2018

"This guy lawd😍"

**53. Sneh Dube, 2019
"Let me tell u about the story of my life... My mother... My father... That's why I'm a communist.

Babaningi abaningi bethi uyajola, bethi uzongishiya, bethi uzongishiya.

So plz don't judge me

Plz don't judge me

Plz don't judge me

Baby don't judge me.

He was a buffalo soldier

Dreadlock Rasta

Stolen from Africa

Bought to America

Oh yabayaba yabayaba yabayaba yabayava"

**

 54. Khulu Minenhle, 2019
"Is the lead singer still at Wits ...I need to see him..Before the end of this year..😄😆😄💕💕💕💕Marato👏"

 -snip-
"Wits" = The University Of Witwatersrand (known as "Wits") in Johannesburg, South Africa

**

REPLY

55. Paulos Lekala Marutha

"Yeah he's still at Wits"

**

56. Colino Deani, 2019
"Every Black Child across the world should be taught this song so no matter where we meet we can break into this song in Brother and sisterhood no matter what country we come from....

WELL DONE FAMILY! Peace & love from NYC =)"

**
57. Johannes Tau, 2019

"Guys these students are on 🔥. Yooh much love 😍"

**

58. Tanaysha Pleasant, 2019
"I LOVE my people!!!!  So much meaning behind y'all singing.  Much Love from Virginia ✊🏿"

**

59. Themba Zondo, 2019
"Reminds me of my days as a SASCO Secretary at the Vaal University of Technology. Eish"

**

60. KiNG VLogs, 2020
"the energy they have, i wish them well! i hope they are all employed by now..."

**

61. Tonsh Benosh, 2020
"Greetings from Colombia 🇨🇴 fellow fighters,the struggle continue s"

**
REPLY

62. Oab, 2020
"Respect"

**

63. KatLee Zulu, 2020
"My happy place 😇🇿🇦 they can sing shame💋"

**

64. mawethu mapulane, 2020

"The #lockdownSA brought me here. Morena boloka setšhaba sa gešu.  26 March-16 April 2020😭💔 #covid19"

-snip-
Google translate from Zulu to English: “Morena boloka setšhaba sa gešu” =  Lord, save our people

**
65. Muhammad Ravat, 2020

"WE ARE ONE WE ARE DIVERSE WE ARE UNITED WE ARE SOUTH AFRICA

VIVA

I LOVE OUR SOUTH AFRICA🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦"

**
66. Pinknashe, 2020

"2020 and i'm still here....this guy is gold shame..."

-snip-
From https://www.stcommunications.com/travellers-guide-south-african-slang/
"Ag shame: Shame is a South Africanism for pity or sympathy, but it can also be used to indicate cuteness. E.g., Ag shame, did you hurt yourself? And, Ag shame, he got his exam results today and they weren’t good. And, Ag shame, did you see that fluffy puppy?"

-snip-
From https://banananewsline.wordpress.com/about/a-handy-guide-to-speaking-south-african/"Shame/Ag Shame (pron. \Agg\ \Shame\) –how cute (“Is that your baby? Ag shame”); an expression of empathy, much like “I’m so sorry for you” (Marie: “My dog died.” Suzie: “Ag shame.”) – ‘ag’ is not necessary, it only adds emphasis"

**

67. vuyokazi sodinga, 2020
"This song tho❤❤❤ I remember singing with friends and random ppl on the road.

MUCH LOVE FOR MZANSI❤❤❤"

**
68. Colino Deani, 2020

"They Still dont wanna see us together in 2020 lol

Love From NYC,USA to Africa & Back again 

#TheyDontWannaSeeUsTogether"

**

69. Thobile Macaws,  2020
"They don’t wanna see us together - yet when we sing and dance they are confounded... yes the spirits of our ancestors are alive and moving with so much might and speed ✊🏾✊🏾!!"

**
70. Kwena Mokgokong, 2020

"2020 #covid19 still relevant ♥️"

**71. Hope Faith, 2020

"This reminds me of high school😢😢😢 it was our favourite track during PET  and on our way back from every  trip...  Yoooh mega love xerm❤❤"

**
72. Buhle Mkhize, 2020

"If we stand together, we can do so much more☺️✊🏾🇿🇦"

**
73. Sive Gwaza, 2021
"I will forever be grateful to the leaders and the masses of #FeesMustFall , cz at that time I had already  lost hope of being a graduate 🎓 🙏 😢,. I was owing the institution 30k and I knew that I will never have that money. Then boom #FMF, they wrote off my debt.  Today I'm a graduate 🎓 😌 🙌. I thank you  my people 🙏"

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UPDATE: Video #3: Nobody wanna see us together - Mxolisi Sopiseka

Paulos Lekala Marutha, Dec 2, 2016

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South Africa's Fees Must Fall Student Protest Movement & Its Struggle Songs

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about South Africa's 2015 and 2016 "Fees Must Fall" student movement.

Information about South Africa's "struggle songs" in the "Fees Must Fall" movement is also included in this post.

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The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.Thanks also to all those who were involved in the Fees Must Fall movement and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post..

****

INFORMATION ABOUT THE FEES MUST FALL PROTEST MOVEMENT

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FeesMustFall

#FeesMustFall was a student-led protest movement[6] that began in mid-October 2015 in South Africa. The goals of the movement were to stop increases in student fees as well as to increase government funding of universities. The movements were started and led by the SRC leader of the University of Witwatersrand of 2015, Shaeera Kalla….

[...]

Date:  12 October 2015 – October 2016

Location:  South Africa[1]

Caused by: An increase in fees by South African universities

Methods:    Protest

Resulted in: No university fee increases in 2016

Over R 800 million in property damage[2] (roughly equivalent to US$59 million)

Increased government funding for universities

-snip-
For more information about the "Fees Must Fall" protest movement, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/11/south-africas-fees-must-fall-movement.html for the 2015 pancocojams post entitled "South African University Students' #FeesMustFall Movement (information, videos, & comments)

****

INFORMATION ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN STRUGGLE SONGS IN THE FEES MUST FALL UNIVERSITY STUDENT PROTEST MOVEMENT
Excerpt #1:
From https://www.mediaforjustice.net/understanding-the-struggle-songs-of-fees-must-fall/

Understanding the Struggle Songs of Fees Must Fall; February 2, 2016 by Media for Justice

"Arguably the most motivating and uniting proponent of the struggle. Struggle songs are a major characteristic of South Afrikan struggles emanating from the pre 1994 struggles. Of course most of the songs have been recently modified to fit the context of our present day circumstances. However the meaning and significance of these songs, together with their history and origins continue to be pivotal to the struggle. During the #FeesMustFall and #EndOutsourcing protests and demonstrations, a number of struggle songs- popular and not so very popular or at least at the initiation of the protests- played a very effective role in perpetuating perseverance and motivating the movement to continue, irrespective of the challenges encountered.

[...]

One surprising factor is that: from all the students’ organisations, it is predominantly males who lead songs. Something that I’m by the way against, because everywhere else, women lead songs, and they do so beautifully (churches & mix gender choirs to mention a few)

[...]

There have been robust arguments during the struggle around which song takes the award for song of the year. The battle was between two songs which I hope not that their lyrics are all over exam scripts around the country. This is a battle between Shiwelele and Solomon....

Iyoooooooh Solomon

This is a song that commemorates the life of a struggle hero Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu. The lyrics of the song give a brief history of the late MK militant who left the country to be trained as an MK operative in Angola and Mozambique. This was following the 1976 Soweto uprisings which he was not part of. He came back to the country via Swaziland in 1977. Solomon Mahlangu was arrested and executed by the apartheid government. He died at the age of 22 and his most famous quote is a very inspiring one which states “tell my people that I love them and they must continue the fight, my blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom, aluta continua.” The song says that Solomon was a soldier of uMkhonto Wesizwe who killed the “boers” all around Afrika. This is a song which not only gives young leaders in the struggle courage, but also brings out the brave side of each comrade in the struggle.

Shiweeeeeelele
Shiwelele is one not rich in history, it has been very popular following the establishment of the Economic Freedom Fighters Students’ Command (EFFSC). Peter Keetse is the national spokesperson of the EFFSC and those who’ve been lucky enough to hear him lead the song will tell you that he does so exceptionally and brilliantly. Lyrically, the song speaks to the issues of students, but has since been modified to accommodate workers as well. The most prominent lines in the song is “We are going to learn by force” (sizo funda ngenkani) which was altered to suit the workers and became “We are going to earn by force” (sizo gola ngenkani).  It also calls on students to come together and unite (bafundi hlanganani). The song finally taunts management, saying either “management is playing with us” or “a component of the system is playing with us”. By “us” it is referring to the protesters, the poor and working class. A part excluded from the song by the FeesMustFall movement is the “commander thethelela” part, this is because the movement had not an elected leader who was seen as standing out in the forefront. This is a song that will in the future continue to be sung in students’ and workers’ protests due to its relevance to the present day struggles."...
-snip-

This article lists various "Fees Must Fall" struggle songs including "Iyoooooooh Solomon", "Shiweeeeeelele", “Amalungelo (thina si lwela amalungelo wethu)“Elilizwe lo khokho bethu, elilizwe la bantu aba mnyama”“Gudala si sebenzela amabunu” and “thina senza nje ma sifuna imali”. 

****
Excerpt #2:
From https://mg.co.za/article/2017-10-13-00-struggle-songs-let-us-be-heard/ Struggle songs let us be heard, by Mbe Mbhele 13 Oct 2017

..."Why do people often resort to music or song during protests and in moments of struggle? This is one of the questions the Black Thought Symposium wanted to answer when they initiated a project called Ingoma Yomzabalazo.

A group of students, lecturers and artists at the University of the Witwatersrand established the symposium to critically explore the ideas surrounding race, politics and culture. The collective is also interested in using different kinds of aesthetics to give an account of the black experience.

The Ingoma Yomzabalazo project began at the height of the #FeesMustFall protests and aimed to spark a conversation about struggle songs and what they might mean. At its inception, the project sought to find ways to speak about how song has been used as a form of resistance.

In the collective imagination of many South Africans, songs of struggle are venerated. For many in this country, a protest without song is simply not a protest at all. It is something that South Africans seem to have internalised, and the #FeesMustFall movement was an example of this.

But what did it mean for students to sing about the debates surrounding decolonisation and transformation? Was the singing a way to heal a people who have had to endure centuries of suffering? Does this form of singing serve only to gather people under one roof, or is it just a form of disruption, as many media reports have suggested?

These are indeed difficult questions and the answers will undoubtedly differ depending on who one speaks to. Answers to these questions are further frustrated by the limited literature or work done on struggle songs and their meaning. The vague history of struggle songs and the ambiguity of their meaning shows how much work still has to be done to work through the labyrinth that is the song in struggle.

If anything has been clear about these songs, it is that they are not just about reliving our experiences, not just about nostalgia and history. Rather, they are the way we relate to ourselves as a nation. It is where we recreate and reconfigure who we are and how we want to be as a country. Struggle songs become a theatre of our desires and an arena of our fantasies.

[...]

Struggle songs can become a passage through which we become alive and renew. With liberation songs, people have been able to articulate views that they have rarely had the opportunity to express at conferences and in the decision-making bodies of their political parties.

Struggle songs are by far the most democratic process that exists in protest and social movements — when people sing together, the call-and-response structure of revolutionary songs allows for collective engagement.

[...]

But perhaps the most powerful aspect of liberation songs, and indeed of music more generally, is their ability to create connections between large numbers of people. Music is a temporal art form, that is to say it unfolds over time. Unlike the visual arts, music is able to structure time through rhythm and pulse, and in doing so lay the foundations for participation and collectivity.

Through song, we are able to theorise while struggling and fighting. We are able to strategise while in the picket lines. When students sang Mbobo vuleka (loosely translated “open the hole”) during the protests, everyone knew the implicit message — that people should attack or prepare to attack; no one needed to explain or dictate what should be done.

Using different songs, the protesters were able to create a language and a structured way of communication that they all understood. Furthermore, struggle songs within the #FeesMustFall movement showed how some of the hierarchies and cries of resistance that evolved out of the brutality of colonialism and apartheid still exist today.

Although new songs have been composed over the years in response to contemporary struggles, some of the songs have remained largely unchanged, deployed by a socially and politically engaged civil society to address South Africa’s post-liberation contentions."...
-snip-
The lyrics for "Nobody Wanna See Us Together" can be mistaken for a love song. However, -the title itself and its repeated words "Nobody wanna see us together" can also refer to the student movement. Also, the lyrics from Bob Marley's Reggae song "Buffalo Soldier" reinforce the revolutionary nature of the "Nobody Wanna See Us Together" song.
 -snip-
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_in_the_movement_against_apartheid for information about struggle songs in South Africa's apartheid protest movement. 

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