DURBAN - Friends of slain student Zolile Khumalo, 21, fear for their lives after her ex-boyfriend appeared in court in connection with her murder.
Khumalo, a student at Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), was shot dead on Tuesday night at her off-campus Lonsdale residence in South Beach, Durban. Some of her close friends have apparently fled from the city.
Khumalo was allegedly shot dead by her former boyfriend, Thabani Mzolo, 23.He appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, and was remanded in custody. When Mzolo left the courtroom, he appeared to imitate pulling the trigger of a gun as students looked on. This angered the students, who said they were being threatened by the murder accused, a former student at the same university.
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Zolile Khumalo, 21, whose murder has left university students angry and devastated.
Several students spoke to the Sunday Tribune, but did not want to be named out of fear.
“That sign was for us. We celebrated when Zoe (Khumalo) finally left that abusive man. He is now after us,” a student said.
MUT spokesperson Mbali Mkhize confirmed that one of the witnesses had been fetched by her parents, and had left Durban.
Two of Khumalo’s other close friends had been moved from the Lonsdale residence to undisclosed locations.
Friends of Zolile Khumalo living in fear. Video: Sihle Mlambo
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Mkhize said the owners of the Lonsdale building had offered to bolster security. In the meantime, a crisis team had been set up to ensure that the building’s owners were complying with security measures as per university policy. The university had also offered counselling to affected students.Meanwhile, Mzolo’s friends were reportedly at the court on Thursday when he appeared there, amid the #JusticeForZolileKhumalo march, which saw hundreds of MUT students converge outside the court.
The students were demanding that Mzolo be denied bail. MUT SRC president, Sandile Dlamini, said he had heard some of Khumalo’s friends had fled Durban.
Zolile Khumalo, 21, whose murder has left university students angry and devastated.
Thabani Mzolo and Zolile Khumalo. Mzolo is accused of fatally shooting Khumalo. Picture: Facebook.