A group of University of Zululand students from KwaDlangezwa campus in KwaZulu-Natal have voiced their frustrations after they discovered that some of their clothing and electrical items left in their campus residences had been stolen.
The university experienced violent protests in March as students complained about the rejection of the appointed Students Representative Council (SRC) administrator, the SRC budget for postgraduate studies and security for students living off campus.
Students told Sowetan that at the time when they were told to vacate their residences, they left with only the clothes they were wearing.
About a week ago, students were allowed to fetch their belongings strictly as per a given schedule.
Phindelani Jali, a 23-year-old final-year student doing a Bachelor of Arts in education, said he lost his fridge and clothing items.
“I was surprised when I got to my room and my cupboards were opened and the fridge was not there. The problem started in March as students were protesting and we were chased away from our residences. At the time we were denied access to fetch our belongings, now five months down the line we have missing items and the university does not want to account,” he said.
Another student, Azile Makhubalo, 24, a BA student in the political science and history faculty, said she had to travel for four hours from Bizana to Empangeni. “When I got to my room I realised that some clothes and my laptop charger were missing. It's very sad because we now have to start afresh and some of us are from disadvantaged backgrounds,” she said.
Another final-year Bachelor of Arts in education student said he lost a laptop and some clothing items. “What confused us was that there was no sign of forceful entry. I can't afford to buy the laptop again and if I take the university laptop, that means I will not get a book allowance next year,” he said.
A student leader from the Congress of South African Students, who requested to remain anonymous as he said they were targeted by the institution, said students were frustrated as there was no actual assistance from the university.
“There is no progress regarding these cases as the institution is shifting the blame to students, saying they were liable for their own stuff. However, students were illegally evicted from their residences and they had been at home for five months,” he said.
Convener of the interim SRC, Ndumiso Ntshangase, said they had referred the matter to the protective services department. “We are still confused as to how the break-ins happened because students were at home, only the private security company, campus security and cleaners were here. We have asked the students to open a case and the institution to investigate these issues,” Ntshangase said.
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