Cape Town – A bubbly young man with great potential. This is how friends and fellow students described slain 19-year-old UCT student Cebo Mhleli Mbatha.
Mbatha, fondly known as Cheesy, a first-year humanities student from KwaZulu-Natal, was stabbed in the chest and died on Saturday during a robbery on Clifton 3rd Beach.
A friend who was with him was stabbed in the leg, while two others managed to escape unharmed.
Police spokesperson Mihlali Majikela said no arrests have been made.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said the Department of Student Affairs (DSA), through its Student Wellness Service, had provided counselling for the three surviving students who experienced severe shock and trauma, while Mbatha’s parents were informed of his death.
“UCT is devastated to confirm that four of our students suffered a tragic incident. The university has been in contact with the Mbatha family, and we have conveyed our deepest condolences to them.
“We are offering the family our support on the tragic passing of their son, who died before he could be taken to hospital. We are also in contact with the other students’ families,” said Moholola.
Further counselling support will be provided to close friends, classmates and affected fellow students who lived in the private residence in Rondebosch with Mbatha.
“UCT is highly distraught that our students, and citizens in general, continue to be affected by violent crime which remains a scourge that needs to be confronted and eliminated from our society.
“The university will continue engaging with the relevant provincial and national authorities," he said.
Meanwhile Mbatha's aunt, Sbongile Nxumalo, told News24 on Monday that he had gone to fellow UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana's funeral on September 7. Mrwetyana was murdered at Clareinch post office in Claremont on August 24.
“He went to Uyinene’s (Mrwetyana) funeral in the Eastern Cape, not knowing he would be next,” Nxumalo said.
"He was telling us how painful it (her death) was. The last conversation he had with his sisters, he was telling them to be aware of thugs and that they must be very cautious."