Durban - A KwaZulu-Natal student who disappeared near the University of the Free State (UFS) campus in Phuthaditjhaba last Friday is believed to have been kidnapped.
Bachelor of Education student, Sinethemba Shezi, 22, from Ladysmith, and a friend were walking from their off-campus residence to the university library at 8pm when they were accosted by a group of men.
SRC president Thulasizwe Sithole said the two students ran in different directions and Shezi had not been seen since.
Sithole said this was the fourth incident in three years. Previously the bodies of students who had disappeared had later been found in the Elands river. Two male students were found in 2012 and last year a female student was decapitated and dumped in the river.
Sithole said after Shezi’s friend had raised the alarm on Friday the search began.
When he couldn’t be found the students had blocked the university entrance on Monday to make the university’s management take the matter seriously.
“Police opened fire on us and there was chaos,” he said.
The university had to postpone the start of the test week to Thursday after the disruptions.
Sithole said 15 students were arrested on Monday and would appear in court on Wednesday.
Shezi’s mother, Minozi Shezi, 55, has arrived in the Free State to help with the search.
“Students have been coming in numbers to help us. Some have gone to the far end of the river and into the mountains but we cannot find him,” she said.
Minozi said the family were heartbroken and they felt they had reached a dead end.
“I have cried enough and the only thing I hope for now is to find his body so I can bury him,” she said.
Sithole said students would march from the university to the municipal offices on Wednesday and hand over a memorandum to the Maluti-a-Phofung municipality.
“Along the way to the campus, there are trees and long grass that criminals use to hide. Also the street lights are not working. we need that to be fixed for the safety of the students,” he said.
University spokeswoman Lacea Loader said a search party, made up of police, the UFS protection services and the SRC, had searched the area all last Friday night. Various SAPS units were still searching, he said.
The Mercury