Latest news with #WalterSisuluUniversity
The Citizen
5 hours ago
- The Citizen
Top 10 stories of the day: R27k found in WSU deputy VC's car
Here's your daily news update for Friday, 20 June 2025: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories. News today includes a large sum of money was discovered in the vehicle of a Walter Sisulu University (WSU) senior staff member who was fatally shot, while Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane raised alarm over the continued violence at the institution. Meanwhile, Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane has urged pupils to play a role in combating bullying by reporting incidents to the authorities. Furthermore, the KwaZulu-Natal department of transport is assembling a legal team to navigate the R6.5 billion lawsuit filed by Toyota insurer Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance in the Durban High Court over the 2022 floods. Weather tomorrow: 21 June 2025 Saws warns of rough seas in parts of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. Damaging winds are also expected in parts of the Eastern Cape, while areas in the Northern Cape face high fire danger conditions. Full weather forecast here. Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way. R27k in cash found in Walter Sisulu University vice-chancellor's car after fatal shooting A large sum of money was discovered in the vehicle of a Walter Sisulu University (WSU) senior staff member who was fatally shot, while Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane raised alarm over the continued violence at the institution. WSU's deputy vice-chancellor for institutional support and development, Sinethemba Mpambane, was killed at the university's Mthatha campus on Thursday. Walter Sisulu University gate at Butterworth Campus in East London on 22 January 2020. Picture: Gallo Images / Sino Majangaza He was reportedly shot multiple times while seated in his vehicle near the entrance of the Nkululekweni facility. CONTINUE READING: R27k in cash found in Walter Sisulu University vice-chancellor's car after fatal shooting Does South Africa need a political party led by Floyd Shivambu? Launching a new political party may not be the best move for Floyd Shivambu, the former secretary-general of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, according to a political analyst. On Thursday, Shivambu told reporters that he plans to consult various sectors of society about forming a new political party. Former MK party secretary-general Floyd Shivambu. Picture: Nigel Sibanda This follows his public fallouts with the founder of the MK party, Jacob Zuma and his daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla. CONTINUE READING: Does South Africa need a political party led by Floyd Shivambu? Education MEC blames management of Pretoria school for pupil's stabbing Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane has urged pupils to play a role in combating bullying by reporting incidents to the authorities. Chiloane was speaking on Friday morning at the Lesedi Secondary School in Lethabong informal settlement in Donkerhoek, Pretoria, where Lethabo Mokonyane, 19, a Grade 11 pupil, was stabbed to death, allegedly by a Grade 12 pupil on Tuesday. Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane speaks to pupils at the Lesedi Secondary School in Lethabong informal settlement, Pretoria, on Friday after a Grade 11 student was stabbed earlier in the week. Picture: Supplied/Gauteng Education It is alleged that the Grade 12 pupil had not attended school that day but arrived after classes had ended, just as pupils were boarding their scholar transports. He then proceeded to stab Mokonyane just outside the schoolyard. CONTINUE READING: Education MEC blames management of Pretoria school for pupil's stabbing 'Engineered dysfunction': City of Tshwane disconnects its own water reservoir for non-payment The DA has accused the City of Tshwane of not having its house in order after it switched off power to its own reservoir as part of a campaign to collect outstanding debt. DA Tshwane Spokesperson for Finance Jacqui Uys said the DA was outraged after the city disconnected its own water reservoir due to non-payment of accounts. Picture: iStock 'On Wednesday, the city's credit control department, furnished with an official disconnection notice, cut power to the pump stations of one of its own reservoirs. City teams meant business as they proceeded to rip the breaker out of the Suiderberg Reservoir, to prevent power from being switched back,' she said. CONTINUE READING: 'Engineered dysfunction': City of Tshwane disconnects its own water reservoir for non-payment Sued for R6.5 billion by Toyota insurer, KZN transport builds legal team The KwaZulu-Natal department of transport is assembling a legal team to navigate the R6.5 billion lawsuit filed by Toyota insurer Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance in the Durban High Court over the 2022 floods. The floods caused significant damage at the Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) vehicle assembly plant in Prospecton, Durban. Damage caused by the 2022 floods in Durban. Picture: X/Hein_The_Slayer Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance is claiming that the damage caused by the floods was due to negligence of the infrastructure. For this, the insurer is suing KZN transport, eThekwini municipality and Transnet SOC Limited. CONTINUE READING: Sued for R6.5 billion by Toyota insurer, KZN transport builds legal team Here are five more stories of the day: Yesterday's News recap READ HERE: Shivambu sticks with MK | Idle Gauteng police vehicles | Malema banned in the UK
The South African
12 hours ago
- The South African
Walter Sisulu University staff member shot dead outside campus
Police launched an urgent investigation after gunmen shot and killed a Walter Sisulu University staff member outside the Nkululekweni gate of the Mthatha campus in the Eastern Cape on Thursday, 19 June. Police found the victim, believed to be a senior faculty member, inside a parked vehicle shortly before 6pm. A fellow staff member who passed the scene alerted authorities. Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said preliminary forensic analysis confirmed the victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds while seated in the driver's position. Police have not released the victim's identity, citing respect for the family and allowing the university to make a formal announcement. Eastern Cape provincial commissioner Major General Thandiswa Kupiso said detectives and forensic experts are actively processing the crime scene and warned against public speculation. She said police had deployed maximum resources to pursue all leads and were working to preserve the integrity of the investigation. Authorities urged anyone with information to come forward. Chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on higher education, Tebogo Letsie, condemned the killing and described it as a brutal and inhumane act. 'We are devastated to learn that an official of Walter Sisulu University has been murdered so callously. Violence has no place in our institutions of learning,' he said. Letsie note that this is the second fatal shooting on the campus in three months. He called on the university to urgently strengthen security to protect staff and students. 'The latest tragedy is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about safety on campus. Our thoughts are with the family, colleagues and students,' he added. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
14 hours ago
- The Citizen
Walter Sisulu University staff member killed outside entrance
Police declined to confirm the identity of the victim, and authorities have warned against speculating over a possible motive. A Walter Sisulu University staff member was fatally shot outside the Nkululekweni gate at the Mthatha campus in the Eastern Cape. Police launched an investigation on Thursday night after being alerted to a shooting incident outside the university's campus. The victim is believed to be a senior member of the faculty, but police have not yet confirmed the deceased's identity out of respect for the family. 'Motive remains unknown' Police were called to the scene shortly before 6pm on Thursday after another staff member passed by the victim's stationary vehicle. 'Preliminary forensic analysis confirms the victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds while seated in the driver's position. The motive remains unknown,' confirmed Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana. Police state that 'maximum resources' will be deployed to pursue all leads as a matter of urgency. They asked members of the public to share any information they may have with authorities. 'Forensic experts and detectives are actively processing the secured crime scene. Public speculation must be avoided to preserve the integrity of the investigation,' said Eastern Cape provincial commissioner Major General Thandiswa Kupiso. The victim's seniority and the possibility of a targeted motive have been suggested on social media, but Gantana would not confirm any details. 'At the moment, I cannot reveal the identity of the victim. I think I will leave that to the family and the Walter Sisulu University as the employer,' Gantana told eNCA on Friday. Second shooting in three months Chairperson of the higher education portfolio committee, Tebogo Letsie, shared his shock at the incident, stating that violence had no place in education. 'We are devastated to learn that an official of the Walter Sisulu University has been brutally murdered in such a callous and inhumane manner,' Letsie said. The same campus was the scene of another fatal shooting in April and Letsie urged the university to strengthen security to protect staff and students. 'The latest tragedy is deeply concerning and raises questions about safety at the institution. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased,' Letsie concluded. NOW READ: Walter Sisulu University murder case: Magistrate accused of bias after employee granted R10k bail
News24
a day ago
- News24
Walter Sisulu University employee shot dead at campus gate
A staff member of Walter Sisulu University (WSU) was shot dead on the Mthatha campus on Thursday evening. Eastern Cape police said the employee was discovered inside a stationary vehicle, near the Nkululekweni entrance gate adjacent to the N2 highway, just before 18:00. 'Preliminary forensic analysis confirms the victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds while seated in the driver's [seat]. The motive remains unknown,' said Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana. 'The identity of the deceased will be formally released once next-of-kin notification is complete, as per SAPS (South African Police Service) protocol. Forensic experts and detectives are actively processing the secured crime scene.' Mthatha residents were on Thursday participating in a day of mourning at the nearby King Sabata Dalindyebo TVET College, following devastating floods last week that left at least 92 dead and over 4 000 households destroyed. READ | Walter Sisulu University student remembered as caring and protective at memorial service Acting provincial police commissioner Major General Thandiswa Kupiso said they had mobilised maximum resources to pursue all leads in the staff member's murder. 'Public speculation must be avoided to preserve the integrity of the investigation,' said Kupiso. This is the second reported shooting at the campus in recent months. On 15 April, WSU Bachelor of Education student Sisonke Mbolekwa was shot dead, allegedly by the university's residence manager, Manelisi Mampane. Mampane, who was arrested on charges including murder and attempted murder, is currently out on R10 000 bail.
IOL News
5 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Youth Resistance: The Psychological Impact from Apartheid to Today
Awam Mavimbela is a registered social worker, former Walter Sisulu University Lecturer, PhD candidate with University of the Free State, and a published author Image: Supplied BOTH the youth of 1976 and today's generation in South Africa face similar challenges, including oppression and poverty, which have contributed to widespread instability and a sense of mental suffocation. This psychological doldrum stems from the harsh conditions they endure—such as dilapidated housing, inadequate education that leads to poverty, unemployment, poor mental health, and more. The death of Hector Pieterson occurred on a peaceful decolonial turn in 1976. One key argument of this historic epoch was that the Bantu Education curriculum by design aims not to liberate Black South Africans from the socio-economic margins imposed by colonialism. Instead, it institutionalised poverty and produced labourers rather than individuals equipped with political and economic awareness. Poverty brings with it profound psychological impacts—depression, frustration, suicidal ideation, and despair. Today's youth also suffer from mental suffocation, and their resistance—from the #FeesMustFall movement to the present day—has come at great cost, with the deaths of young people such as Sisonke Mbolekwa, Benjamin Phehla, Mthokozisi Ntumba, and Mlungisi Madonsela. Fees Must Fall was not only a call for free education, but also for a decolonised curriculum. This was predicated on the observation that, the colonial legacy of apartheid education curriculum still sidelines vulnerable groups, reducing them to labourers rather than ideological independent, critically engaged, politically and economically conscious individuals. Therefore, this continued colonial education system partly explains the low youth voter turnout. All those who have died—from Hector Pieterson to today's student activists—were casualties of state-led systems. The dominant narrative around the 1976 uprising often simplifies it to a rejection of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. However, Tsietsi McDonald Mashinini and his collective were rejecting a broader system of economic exclusion. Their peaceful protest sought to collapse the economy by urging the oppressed to stay in their domiciles, highlighting how the oppressed were being used to sustain an economy they did not benefit from. Afrikaans, in that context, was merely the breaking point. The youth resistance was not about replacing Afrikaans with English—it was about dismantling a system designed to marginalise them. Similarly, Fees Must Fall was not only about tuition fees, but about the ongoing struggle that Mashinini and others had begun. Today, the education system continues to suffocate youth through debt, exclusion, unemployment, and a curriculum that perpetuates alienating narratives, further marginalising vulnerable groups. A concrete example is the overlooked history of the Xhosa nation's 100-year legacy—stories that could foster pride, patriotism, civic responsibility, and an understanding that issues like marginalisation are a legacy of apartheid and demand radical redress. The inability of many Black South Africans to afford university fees is rooted in the colonial institutionalisation of poverty. Decolonising the curriculum would highlight these historical truths and support the push for free, accessible education that tackles systemic oppression. Undoubtedly, Hector Pieterson, Sisonke Mbolekwa, Benjamin Phehla, Mthokozisi Ntumba, and Mlungisi Madonsela would not have died if oppressive conditions did not exist. Today, the nature of oppression has shifted—from overt brutality to systemic economic exclusion. The oppressor has changed form, moving from a white-led apartheid regime to a predominantly white-controlled economic system, with one agenda. Any society becomes unstable when a portion of its population is deeply marginalised. We see this reflected in 'global' unrest, such as the riots in Los Angeles. In South Africa, today's youth appear mentally suffocated, which may contribute to instability. While many may not be fully politically or socially conscientised, events such as the gender-based violence cases involving Cwecwe and Namhla demonstrate that the youth can be mobilised at any moment. Therefore, the South African government must reflect deeply—especially during June 16 commemorations—on the state of the nation's youth. Are they celebrating June 16 as a historic event, or living its continued struggle? This day and its surrounding month mark a decolonial turning point, a time when young people sought to collapse an economy from which they were excluded. With today's high youth unemployment, that struggle persists. The only difference is that the government is now led by a former liberation movement that has, perhaps unconsciously, continued many aspects of the apartheid agenda. *The opinions expressed in this article does not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper. DAILY NEWS
