Lerato Mbhiza
The Higher Education, Science, and Innovation Minister, Blade Nzimande, has condemned the killing in a crossfire of a University of Johannesburg (UJ) 2nd-year accounting student in Braamfontein last week.
The incident left three people dead and one student hospitalised after sustaining injuries in the face.
At the time of the shooting on Thursday afternoon, the student was travelling from the university to his residence in the Johannesburg city centre and the university confirmed last week that the student, who was declared dead on the scene, was in his second year.
On Monday, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande sat with the family of the slain student David Nxumalo, and visited the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital where another student, Dimpho Mosia, who survived the ordeal is being treated for injuries sustained in the shooting incident.
The 18-year-old Mosia is said to be recovering well after he was struck in the face by a stray bullet while riding in a student bus ferrying students from UJ’s Kingsway Campus to the nearby Nukerk private student residence on Nugget Street. Nxumalo was also in that bus when he got shot and killed.
Nzimande said he was pleased to see that Mosia, who was supported by his mother and sister, was recovering well.
The Minister conceded that more could be done to improve security at the country’s tertiary institutions and in student communities and stressed that his department has held high-level meetings with officials from the police and other stakeholders to discuss security concerns and try to find solutions.
“We’ve already held two safety and security summits with our universities, and I am still more than convinced that in order to try and make our campuses safer we need to build safety and security committees – something similar to community policing forum structures.”
Elaborating on this, the Deputy Director-General in the Department of Higher Education and Training Dr Marcia Socikwa said they agreed with the heads of security at institutions in the university precinct, comprised of the University of Witwatersrand and UJ, that security measures to curb muggings, and other serious crimes affecting, students must be enhanced.
“We are going to have common security protocols. Once that work is finalised, we will have a blueprint for the entire sector. Hopefully, that will enhance security and safety for our students.
“We are also working closely with higher health, with psychological and emotional support.”
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