The family of alleged drug mule Nolubabalo Nobanda on Wednesday insisted she was a student at Wits University despite the institution not having a record of her.
“I would like to counter those facts. My child was registered at Wits for three years and was finishing up with Unisa this year,” her father Partick Ncepu said.
“I can even give you her student numbers.”
Earlier, the university said she was not registered with them.
“Wits University would like to place on record that Ms Nolubabalo Nobanda, an alleged drug mule, was never registered as a student at Wits University,” spokeswoman Shirona Patel said in a statement.
“The university cannot find any student record under this name.”
Nobanda was arrested in Thailand this week for hiding cocaine in her dreadlocks.
The 23-year-old was searched on Monday when police said they noticed a white substance in her hair shortly after she stepped off a Qatar Airways flight.
Police found 1.5 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $150 000 hidden in her dreadlocks.
She admitted to authorities that she smuggled the drugs and said she was hired to deliver the cocaine to a customer at a hotel in Bangkok.
The family's lawyer Advocate Ntsiki Sandi said all attempts were being made to ensure Nobanda was brought back to South Africa alive.
The family had called on the department of foreign affairs and international relations to intervene in the matter.
South African diplomats were expected to visit her in prison on Thursday.
Sandi said the embassy had promised to give her clothes and food.
The family would also send a representative to that country to take instructions on how to proceed with the matter.
“It's necessary for the family that someone should go Thailand and find out what happened and take instructions as soon as possible because the family is still in the dark,” said Sandi. – Sapa