Amid an investigation by a multi-disciplinary task team established to solve recent fatal attacks at the University of Fort Hare, the police in the Eastern Cape have opened yet another case of attempted murder.
This after a 32-year-old employee from the university was found in his flat with hands tied and mouth covered on Wednesday night.
In a statement, Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said: “The victim was only noticed by his colleagues after he did not report for work. They then went to investigate in his flat, where they eventually found him. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for medical care after they noticed that he was not well.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are currently under investigation and no injuries were reported. A case of attempted murder has been registered for investigation. No arrest has been made at this stage.”
The latest incident comes after an attempted assassination on the university vice-chancellor, professor Sakhela Buhlungu, over a week ago, which saw his executive bodyguard Mboneli Vesele being shot dead in a hail of bullets outside Buhlungu’s Alice residence.
Vesele was laid to rest at the weekend.
In 2022, fleet manager at Fort Hare, Petrus Roets, was gunned down in a suspected hit. In a separate incident, unknown 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.
With the academic year about to start, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union has expressed concern over the safety of staff and students, calling on law-enforcement authorities to ensure stability and order at the university.
Kinana has emphasised that the police do not associate the latest incident with previous attacks on university staff.
Sunday World reported at the weekend that at the heart of hostile relations at Fort Hare, which have turned deadly, is an alleged string of fraud and corruption investigations that have seen the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) being roped in to probe alleged malfeasance in the awarding of lucrative contracts.
Another subject of the SIU investigation is allegations of the selling of degrees.
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