by Nomatter Ndebele | Aug 2, 2013 | News
THE MAN accused of holding eight Wits Law council members hostage last Friday has been released because he is “mentally unwell”.
According to Hillbrow Police spokesperson Constable Mduduzi Zondo, charges of intimidation and trespassing against the man, Sibusiso Mahuli, were withdrawn by the senior prosecutor at the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
It is unclear whether a psychologist was involved in the decision to drop the case.
On Monday, Wits Vuvuzela reported that eight Wits Law School council members locked themselves in a storeroom and called police after two men barged into a meeting and used the threat of a gun — which was not seen — to intimidate them.
Campus Control apprehended one of the men, Mahuli, while the second managed to escape. No gun was found on the scene or among the arrested man’s belongings.
[pullquote align=”right”]When Campus Control senior investigator Michael Mahada called Mahuli’s mother, she told him that her son was mentally “not well”.[/pullquote]
Wits Vuvuzela contacted Mahuli and questioned him about Friday’s incident. He said he was not allowed on campus anymore but that he still intended to study at the university.
However, he said his mother had forbidden him from returning to the university.
A Campus Control report, compiled from CCTV footage, testimony from involved students and Campus Control officers, as well as Wits Vuvuzela interviews has established Friday’s sequence of events.
Campus Control said the two men entered the campus via Senate House without signing in to receive a visitor’s slip.
At 5.07pm they are seen on camera entering the Law School, and at 6.16pm they are seen leaving.
Two Campus Control officers entered the building at 5.30pm, followed 10 minutes later by armed police.
The footage then shows Mahuli returning to the Law School building at 5.50pm, where he was pointed out by one of the Law council students and arrested. Campus Control and police found a letter in the Law School council offices from the university acknowledging Mahuli’s application to study at Wits next year.
Hostage man speaks
Asked about Friday’s events, Mahuli said he had come to the Law School to find out more about courses.[pullquote align=”right”] In the middle of the interview with Wits Vuvuzela, he broke out in song: “92, 92, 92, verse 92….that’s my song for Vuvuzela”.[/pullquote]
Jeanette Phiri, head of student enrolment, told Wits Vuvuzela that the university could not deny any person a place at the university based on their mental state. If a student was found to be mentally disabled when they registered, the onus was on the faculty to accommodate the student.
Phiri said an incident like this was unprecedented.
One of the students held hostage, Nonkululeko Sunduza, said he did not believe Mahuli should be allowed back at Wits.
“If he is mentally ill … he could pose the same threat to us and other students. He should be institutionalised. We cannot have another saga,” said Sunduza.
Sunduza complained that Campus Control took too long, about 30 minutes, to respond to their call for help. He said the lengthy wait resulted in the students calling the SA Police Service.
Mahada said Campus Control had passed on its findings to Wits management.
Related Stories:
by Nomatter Ndebele | Jul 29, 2013 | Featured 1, News
by Nomatter Ndebele and Mfuneko Toyana
Members of Wits’ Law School locked themselves in a storeroom and called police after they were threatened with a gun by two men on Friday evening.
Nonkululeko Sunduza, academic officer of the law school council, said two men barged into their meeting; one of them holding what she says was a letter of admission, wanting to “know” about law.
Sunduza said one of the men was tattooed and had a gold tooth, while the other looked as if he were a “ hobo”
[pullquote align=”right”]“Ithii ngikhiphe izibhambu zam ngizonibonisa kahle” [Let me take my guns out so I can show you][/pullquote]
“I noticed that the other guy (The hobo), wasn’t really paying attention, he was just looking around” said Sunduza.
According to Sunduza the tattooed man became increasingly frustrated as he didn’t seem to understand what they were saying to him about the letter.
When they couldn’t answer his questions, he said in IsiZulu:“Ithii ngikhiphe izibhambu zam ngizonibonisa kahle” (Let me take my guns out so I can show you.)’
Sunduza screamed and told her fellow council member Lerato Thini to lock the door.
The eight council members then ran and locked themselves in the storeroom where they called Wits Campus Control. From the storeroom, Sunduza said she heard the men say: “We have to do this … we’ve been in cells together”
[pullquote]”Eight policemen arrived armed with rifles.”[/pullquote]
She said she also heard one guy explaining to the other how to use a gun. “Kufanele kuqhume isbhamu” (A gun must go off).
Fearing that Campus Control was taking too long to respond, the hotages called the police.
Senior investigating officer at Campus Control, Michael Mahada, told Wits Vuvuzela that he arrived on the scene and found Sunduza and Thini outside talking to Campus Control officers.
He said a few minutes later, about eight policemen arrived armed with rifles.
Mahada said one of the first things he noticed was a bag laying in the hallway with its contents scattered all around.
“There were some study guides of some sort, some clothing, and other documents”, Mahada said.
The “documents” turned out to be a letter from Wits acknowledging one of the men’s application to study at the University, as well as other personal papers.
Mahada said there was no gun in the bag or amongst the scattered items.
[pullquote align=”right”]She also told Mahada that her son was “not right”.[/pullquote]
“At first I thought the stuff belonged to a student. When I asked the suspect he couldn’t explain himself.”
Mahada said he then called one of the numbers on the documents, and the woman who answered said she was the suspects’ mother.
She also told Mahada that her son was “not right”.
Mahada said Campus Control would be looking at CCTV footage as they continue to investigate.
Constable Mduduzi Zondo of the Hillbrow Police station confirmed that a case of intimidation has been opened against the suspect, after he was apprehended on campus by the police.
The suspect remains in custody and is set to appear in a Hillbrow court tomorrow.
His accomplice ran away and has yet to been found.
Related Stories:
by Nomatter Ndebele | Jul 19, 2013 | News
By Nomatter Ndebele and Emelia Motsai
The 11 students facing a Wits disciplinary hearing have complained the presiding chairperson is prejudiced and “interrogating their evidence with negative hostility”.
The students were charged with contravening the university’s code of conduct after they disrupted a concert by an Israeli pianist during a protest for Israel Apartheid Week in March. The hearing began on Tuesday and was closed to the media.
Advocate Jennifer Woodward is chairperson.
“It’s clear we are already guilty,” said former SRC president Feziwe Ndwayana. SRC Treasurer, Justice Nkomo, said Woodward had “already concluded that the students are guilty, crushing all evidence without reason”.
Nkomo said all the students had pleaded not guilty, despite being advised by Wits legal representatives to plead guilty, in order to receive a suspended exclusion instead of suspended expulsion.
The Wits legal office said the hearing was closed to the public in order to protect the accused. But Tokelo Nhlapo, SRC deputy president, who is also facing charges, said: “I am disappointed that, as an elected member of the Wits Student Representative Council, my supporters, voters and others are being kicked out and prevented from being here.”
The students were represented pro bono by Mohammed Desai, of the Muslim Students’ Association. Some students said on twitter the university should be using resources to help students, not fight them. According to a lawyer from the Wits Law Clinic, Woodward was probably being paid R25 000 per day since she was a senior counsel.
As SRC president in 2009, Ndwayana faced disciplinary charges for her role in a protest against fee increases. Ndwayana was suspended and released from her SRC duties only weeks after her appointment.
In 2006 SRC President Mbali Hlope was also arrested and faced criminal charges after a protest against fee increases. The charges were dropped, but Hlope was later excluded academically.
“We are not backing down, we are going ahead full force because we didn’t do anything wrong,” said Nkomo.
The hearing continues.
by Nomatter Ndebele | Jul 19, 2013 | News
THIRD-year student Rosa Moll studied abroad in Paris as part of an exchange programme to broaden her horizons. However, when Moll returned to Wits she learned she was not being credited for all of her courses.
Moll took up seven subjects in the fields of archaeology and anthropology at a third year at the Paris X Nanterre La Defense in France. The courses at the French university were to be credited at a second year level at Wits.
Ismail Barudin, programme administrator at the Wits International Office, told Wits Vuvuzela that Moll’s case was being investigated. He said the error was not done on the Wits side and suggested a mistake was made by Paris X Nanterre.
Barudin said that when students apply for the Wits Study Abroad Programme, it is important that they sit down with their faculty registrar and look at the courses they plan on taking at the foreign university.
The students should make sure that the course is available and that they will be credited for their courses before they study abroad. A form approving the courses at the exchange university must be checked and stamped by the faculty registrar.
Barudin said students need to be aware that some courses are only partially credited, and exchange students would still have to take up another course at Wits to fulfil their point requirements.
One of the requirements of the programme is that a student needs to be registered at Wits and pay the full tuition fee at the university. In cases where the academic year at the exchange university does not coincide with the Wits academic year, students should register over the phone while still abroad.
Most of the partnerships and exchange programmes are open to the humanities students.
Barudin explained that it is difficult to have exchange programmes in faculties that have their own professional councils because there could be a difference in the way the professions are practised in different countries.
Barudin said that cases such as Moll’s are not common and that they have not come across any other issues.
Other than then credits mishap, Moll said “the experience was memorable” and that she enjoyed her studying in Paris.
by Nomatter Ndebele | May 17, 2013 | Featured 1
The Wits student mining engineering society, dressed to the nines as they suited up and “heeld” up for Mine managers day this afternoon outside the Great hall, in order to celebrate the role of Mine Managers. The students celebrated, by dancing and singing a. Mining student Rafael Kulumba said the idea was to promote management, as they aspire to be like mine managers one day and too show everybody else that our faculty is “Still number one” .
by Nomatter Ndebele | May 10, 2013 | Featured 1
AN UNLIKELY TRIO: Three Witsies strutted their stuff on a fashion runway at the launch of the Candid Devout clothing line on Saturday night atb the Gardens rooftop venue in downtown Joburg. Photo: Nomatter Ndebele
AN unlikely trio of two civil engineering students and a law student were strutting on a runway at the launch of the Candid Devout clothing line.
Carmen Mathlakola and Luyanda Mkhize, both 2nd year Civil engineering students and Candy Khoza 2nd year LLB student walked the catwalk on Saturday night at the Gardens Rooftop venue.
Not your typical models, Mathlakola believed that they were not selected to model the brand because they had the” typical model look”, but because they represented the brand. Candid Devout “is for any girl, tall or short” said Mathlakola.
Khoza believes people often think when you look a certain way; you have to be in a certain career. Although Khoza is shorter than the average ramp model she said her height worked in her favour, as she was able to wear clothes that taller girls couldn’t really pull off.
Cathy Moloi, the brains behind the clothing line says it’s all about “authentic trends, with the latest trends recurring, making it very dynamic, basically swag means it speaks for itself”. The line was well-received as the audience marvelled at the vintage chic pieces, mixed with a classic African print influence.
The star-studded audience included the likes of SABC 2 Hectic Nine-9, Raphael Griffiths and International pop star, Michaela.
One does not realise how much work goes into putting together a fashion show. The audience was treated to a glitch-free fashion show, but the girls said there was “madness” in the backroom, as “one girl almost went out in her bra” said Mkhize.
For the engineering duo, the fashion show gave them a break from their “hectic” course and an opportunity to be in the limelight, “that [attention from people] doesn’t happen in engineering” said Mathlakola.
Khoza,a VowFm Dj and self-confessed drama queen is used to getting attention from family and friends. For her the experience was all about learning the ins and outs of how modelling works. She aspires to be in the fashion Industry one day as “it was nice to get the experience of the runway (sic)” said Khoza.
Although none of the girls have ambitions of taking up modelling as a career, they agreed that if the opportunity arose, they would do it again.
by Nomatter Ndebele | May 10, 2013 | Featured 1, Sport
Esselen Trumps: Esselen goes for gold against Girton House
THE ESSELEN netball team’s fast-placed play proved too much for rivals Girton House, leaving them victorious 20-12 after their Tuesday match at Dig Field. The fast paced match left Girton struggling to keep up as Esselen dominated the first three quarters with a solid goal shooting team.Esselen members Palesa Choma and Nomfundo Koloi worked well together and used every opportunity to score goals. Their defence was also solid and managed to keep the Girton shooters at bay.
Goalkeeper Mpho Mokoena was a force to be reckoned with in the Girton shooting circle, often retrieving the ball before Girton could score.
Girton felt the pressure and were sloppy with their passes, often losing balls they should have used to their advantage. After a stern talking to from the coach, Girton’s defence appeared stronger in the third quarter. This kept Esselen on their toes with Girton goalkeeper Kwezi Katamzi becoming a formidable foe for Esselen goalshooter Nomfundo Koloi. While their defence was on point, Girton still had difficulty driving the game forward towards their goals.
The last quarter of the game intensified as both teams made efforts to win the match. Girton gave it their all and matched the Esselen pace. They made solid advances to their goal posts, scoring a couple of goals and giving Esselen a run for their money.As the pressure mounted Esselen started to panic and become careless with their passes. However, this they found their feet again, kept their defence strong and eventually came out victorious.
The Esselen and Girton match wereone of several played this week in the Wits internal netball league. Other teams that came out on top include Wits Junction with a 20-12 victory over Reith and Jubilee with a 27-8 victory over Barnato.
Mavoda suffered a crushing 2-43 defeat against Medics, the 2012 champions.
Braamfontein Centre and David Webster played a smooth game that left David Webster victorious 19-12. The match between Sunnyside and Medhurst was postponed.
The next round of the league continues on April 14 at 6pm on West Campus at the Dig Field.
by Nomatter Ndebele | May 10, 2013 | Featured 1
Carmen Matlhako, Luyanda Mkhize and Candy Khoza, walked at the launch of Candid Devout’s clothing line.
AN unlikely trio of two civil engineering students and a law student were strutting on a runway at the launch of the Candid Devout clothing line.
Carmen Mathlakola and Luyanda Mkhize, both 2nd year Civil engineering students and Candy Khoza 2nd year LLB student walked the catwalk on Saturday night at the Gardens Rooftop venue.
Not your typical models, Mathlakola believed that they were not selected to model the brand because they had the” typical model look”, but because they represented the brand. Candid Devout “is for any girl, tall or short” said Mathlakola.
Khoza believes people often think when you look a certain way; you have to be in a certain career. Although Khoza is shorter than the average ramp model she said her height worked in her favour, as she was able to wear clothes that taller girls couldn’t really pull off.
Cathy Moloi, the brains behind the clothing line says it’s all about “authentic trends, with the latest trends recurring, making it very dynamic, basically swag means it speaks for itself”. The line was well-received as the audience marvelled at the vintage chic pieces, mixed with a classic African print influence. The star-studded audience included the likes of SABC 2 Hectic Nine-9, Raphael Griffiths and International pop star, Michaela.
One does not realise how much work goes into putting together a fashion show. The audience was treated to a glitch-free fashion show, but the girls said there was “madness” in the backroom, as “one girl almost went out in her bra” said Mkhize.
For the engineering duo, the fashion show gave them a break from their “hectic” course and an opportunity to be in the limelight, “that [attention from people] doesn’t happen in engineering” said Mathlakola.
Khoza,a VowFm Dj and self-confessed drama queen is used to getting attention from family and friends. For her the experience was all about learning the ins and outs of how modelling works. She aspires to be in the fashion Industry one day as “it was nice to get the experience of the runway (sic)” said Khoza.
Although none of the girls have ambitions of taking up modelling as a career, they agreed that if the opportunity arose, they would do it again.
Nomatter@witsvuvuzela.com
by Nomatter Ndebele | May 10, 2013 | News
Engineers care:Engineering students put food into the collection box placed in Richard ward
Wits School of Chemical and Metallurgy student council, known as “Mechsa”, representative Yolanda Kupa , 2nd year Chemical Engineering, was inspired to start the campaign after noticing the work done by other charity drives on campus.
Kupa contacted Karuna Singh, head of the Wits Volunteer Programme. The programme serves as a conduit to community NGO’s which students can then engage with for their volunteer activities.
“The Wits Volunteer Programme also encourages students to initiate their own projects and helps them consider various factors when engaging with communities,” said Singh.
There are a number of collection boxes in various engineering buildings where students can drop off groceries and toiletries. These goods are collected every Friday, to be packed into parcels that are distributed out to disadvantaged students on the campus.
MECHSA student representative Thabani Mbuyisi said that the response to the campaign hasn’t been too bad, but that with a little more marketing, it could be even better.
Mechsa student council president Okaeng Rakereng said engineers were encouraged to give back to the communities where they work. They believe it isn’t enough to go into communities and leave without having made a difference.
With this in mind, the council believed Wits engineering students should get involved in helping others.
“Engineers work for the community [so we need to] enhance responsibilities,” said Mbuyisi.
The campaign seeks to encourage responsibility amongst engineers, whether they are promoting environmental awareness or helping the disadvantaged people within the communities they work.
“It’s a great idea, and it’s a good thing that people are thinking about others and not just themselves,” said Sindi Ndinisa, 3rd year Metallurgy.
Another metallurgy student, Kamogelo Moropa, said the campaign was very impressive and that he hoped it would “inspire other students to follow in their steps”
The Mechsa student council plans to do more community outreach programmes to give back to the Wits and Braamfontein community. They plan on going to Marang house, a facility that cares for children with terminal illnesses, to hold a braai and fun activities for the children at the home.
nomatter@witsvuvuzela.com
by Nomatter Ndebele | May 8, 2013 | News
By Nomatter Ndebele, Nolwazi Mjwara and Ray Mahlaka.
International sensation Justin Bieber is currently in South Africa, on his Believe tour. He is performing in Johannesburg this Sunday. Wits Vuvuzela scoured the campus for Beliebers among witsies to find out what all the hype is about.
by Nomatter Ndebele | May 1, 2013 | News
Given the ongoing issue of sexual harassment at Wits, Wits Vuvuzela spoke to male students about the way in which the issue has been covered given that all allegations have stemmed from female students against male lecturers.
by Nomatter Ndebele | Apr 29, 2013 | Featured 1, News
One of the Braamfontein res jackets for sale at a store in Lagos, downtown Johannesburg. Pic: Wits Vuvuzela.
A STORE in the “Lagos” section of Braamfontein is selling Wits merchandise without the university’s permission.
Wits Vuvuzela found the goods at a store on the corner of Simmonds and Jorissen streets, in an area known as “Lagos” due to the large number of Nigerian merchants. The reporter was accompanied by a fellow student posing as her boyfriend.
Inside the shop, five Wits Braamfontein Centre res jackets were for sale at R400 each. The blue and white baseball jackets have the Wits logo on their sleeve. The jackets are only put out in the late evenings, and are nowhere to be seen in the morning or during the day. [pullquote align=”right”]”they were under the impression that the first batch of jackets had then been discarded.”[/pullquote]
The jackets had names of various people on them, written in ink, with the one reading “S’khu chairperson”. The vendor told the Wits Vuvuzela reporter they had made 150 jackets for Wits.
He added that he could make more of the jackets for us, if we wanted them. When asked if the names could be removed the salesman said this was no problem, all he had to do was wipe it off with some remover.
Wits spokesperson Shirona Patel said Wits branded merchandise could only be sold at the shop in the concourse of Senate House.
“Wits does not have not franchises which are allowed to sell Wits merchandise,” Patel said.
Wits Vuvuzela traced the name “S’khu” back to a former Braamfontein Centre residence chairperson, Skhulile Ngcobo.
Ngcobo said they had contracted a designer to make the jackets for them. When the first batch had come out, the jackets were incorrectly designed, so they asked for the jackets to be re-done. When they received the new jackets, they were under the impression that the first batch of jackets had then been discarded.
While the jackets were being sold for R400.00, the salesman offered a discount, saying he could sell the reporter three jackets for R380.00 each.
The man urged the reporter and her “boyfriend” to come back and buy the jackets as they were selling fast. He suggested that they leave a deposit, so that he could hold them on their behalf.
