VUT students terrified in wake of murders

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Published Sep 10, 2015

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Johannesburg - Students at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) fear for their lives.

On Wednesday, students expressed how unsafe they feel on and off campus residences after two female students were shot and killed at the weekend. The two logistics students were found murdered in their private residence, just two streets from the main VUT campus.

They were found shot and tucked into their beds in a pose that looked like they were sleeping. The university has confirmed the deaths.

Spokeswoman Kediemetse Mokotsi said that when officials from the institution visited the house earlier this week, they discovered that two male students also lived there. They were relocated to an on-campus residence and also received trauma counselling.

Student Katlego Mushwana said he used to live on campus until this year. “There is a shortage of residence space. I had to move out because it’s expensive, but where I live now isn’t safe. Students get mugged and attacked when they walk from the library at night,” he said.

Mushwana said that because the institution doesn’t have enough accommodation, the authorities should regulate private residences to ensure the safety of students.

But students staying in off-campus residences aren’t the only ones who feel unsafe. A student who lives on campus said last week she had to wrestle with two men who walked into a female residence and tried to steal laptops.

“When I walked from my friend’s room, I saw two guys holding my bag. The one guy saw that I was going to scream and he throttled me. I was able to fight him and throw him to the floor. We report these incidents to campus security but nothing gets done.”

Student representative council president Troy Mathebula concurred that students were unsafe. “The university must utilise the student levy and get proper security for students on campus. If students are not safe on campus, how can we expect them to be safe off campus? Safety has to begin on campus, and the landlords will follow,” he said.

Mokotsi said Sedibeng mayor Simon Mahole Mofokeng and representatives of VUT would march to Vanderbijlpark police station on Friday to hand over a memorandum detailing their concerns.

Classes would be suspended for a specific period to accommodate the march. Mathebula said they planned to march at the institution on Monday.

Mokotsi said VUT was concerned about the safety of its students. “The VUT council has approved the procurement of a state-of-the-art CCTV security system to ensure the safety of our students on campus and at residences outside the main campus,” she said.

The Star

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