A Twenty-year-old student from Botswana was shocked to discover her car stolen from what she thought was a secure parking at the Wits Junction residence parking lot last Friday.
“I feel terribly let down by the promises of safety and security at the Junction. The residence fee should cover adequate and reliable security”, Gayathri Raveendran said.
The 4th year medical student’s 2003 white Toyota RunX was parked outside the Shosholoza building at the Junction parking space when it was stolen.
The residence, which costs R49 000 a year, is in the process of installing boom gates. The motorised gates are currently not working. Vuvuzela witnessed people opening and closing the gate themselves without any security check.
The security guard only opened for cars exiting the premises. On the day the car was stolen, the exit gate was not working and students and visitors had to use the entrance gate to exit, said a Wits Junction employee who asked not to be named.
At the time Raveendran’s car was stolen, the Park Lane entrance was in use, but the security cameras had not been set up and the security guards placed at that entrance were new, according to Raveendran.
She said she would advise the Junction not to rely solely on the security guards but to take additional measures like changing parking bays to avoid patterns.
Despite repeated attempts by Vuvuzela to speak to Robert Sharman, director of campus housing and residence life, no comment has been received.
Anyone with any information concerning the loss of the car with a Botswana registration number B774 ATY should please contact Vuvuzela on 011 717 4082/28, or come to the 10th floor of University Corner.
