Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande has labelled as uninformed statements that he has been missing in action at the University Fort Hare amid the shootings and killings targeted at the institution’s staff.
Nzimande, accompanied by Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele and Police Minister Bheki Cele, visited the university on Wednesday following the killing of Mboneli Vesele, the bodyguard of the vice-chancellor in what is believed to have been an attempted hit on his boss professor Sakhela Buhlungu on Friday last week.
Vesele was killed in a hail of bullets near Buhlungu’s official residence in Alice, Eastern Cape.
Last year, the university’s fleet manager Petrus Roets was gunned down in a suspected hit. In another incident, the gunmen opened fire at the staff village with a bullet hitting the fridge door in deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning professor Renuka Vithal’s residence.
“I remain outraged by this inhumane act. The police will go deep … and find the perpetrators,” Nzimande said about the murder of Vesele and the attempted assassination of Buhlungu.
He said he phoned Buhlungu to offer his condolences and support the moment he heard about the shooting and killing of Vesele, adding that he has been in contact with Cele daily about the case.
Nzimande added that it is not true that his department has done nothing after the murder of Roets in 2022.
“When Mr Roets was killed, we reached out to the university. We sent a director to speak at the memorial service, and we spoke about the need to prioritise the killings.
“When a young woman was chopped to death, I was here. I even travelled to Matatiele to attend the funeral,” he said.
He said his department has given Fort Hare a lot of attention and extensive funding of almost R1-billion to ensure that as a historical institution it succeeds.
“The deputy director-general was here in Fort Hare in September to talk about the non-expenditure of more than half-a-billion rand, some of that money meant for water and sanitation,” he added.
The minister, who met with the university council, as well as worker and student representatives, said they have all agreed to work together to ensure a smooth beginning to the start of the academic year.
He further said Fort Hare will also be added to the number of institutions that will be closely monitored. “Workers and students need a structure to work together to make their own space safe.”
The council has agreed, said the minister, to finding a way to deal with other threats that contribute to criminality, including business forums, which demand to be given tenders.
He further noted that his department will process the submissions collected at the university during his visit and come up with measures to secure the safety of all staff and students.
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