UniZulu devastated by increase in student deaths
This follows the murder of final year student Nqobile Ngema (25), who was shot off-campus last Monday
THE University of Zululand is devastated by the increase in the number of student deaths.
This follows the murder of final year student Nqobile Ngema (25), who was shot off-campus last Monday.
Police confirmed Ngema was shot six times on her way to her residence.
A case of murder has been opened at the Mtunzini Police Station.
‘It pains us deeply to inform you of the untimely demise of our very own students in 2017. The university is devastated at the increase in student deaths, especially during the final semester.
‘The university mourns the loss of the 17 individuals who were an integral part of the UniZulu community and who also played a fundamental role beyond the classroom,’ Communications and Marketing Director Gcina Nhleko said.
Nhleko said the students were not only ‘our future accountants, teachers, programmers, lawyers and academics- they were those who made this world a better place’.
‘They were agents of change in our quest to reduce poverty and inequality and they represented our hope for the future.’
In August this year the body of Lethukuthula Ngobese, a third year law degree student at UniZulu, was found in a shack with multiple stab wounds.
UniZulu has encouraged students to stay focused and be vigilant in order to successfully complete the examinations currently in progress.
‘The death of a student affects the entire UniZulu community. We stand in solidarity with colleagues, family and friends during this most sad and difficult times,’ Nhleko concluded.
While many students have shared messages of condolences on social media, others expressed fear and called for relevant stakeholders to intervene.
‘A student was gunned down in Unizulu last night (Monday) and it wasn’t the first; students get mugged at gunpoint everyday, please intervene,’ one student tweeted to Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula.
‘Students are dying in Unizulu something must be done enough is enough how many more should perish before this matter is taken seriously,’ @Samantha07824 also tweeted.
The National Students’ Movement UniZulu Branch has also called on ‘relevant authorities, in particular, the SAPS and Protective Services Department (PSD) to improve their capabilities to save student lives.
In similar vein, we further call on the government to release all resources to help save our lives in institutions of higher learning’.
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