Safety concerns mount at Maties
MORE than 3 000 women from Stellenbosch University (SU) are now connected on emergency WhatsApp groups after the hijacking and murder of fellow student Hannah Cornelius.
The chat group was started for women who find themselves in emergency situations.
After the killing, some of the women said they did not feel safe on campus. One of the students at a hostel who wanted to remain anonymous, said they were scared to walk outside at night.
“There have been a couple of muggings in the area,” she said.
Student activist Luke Waltham said students feel very unsafe.
“Tomorrow we will be meeting with various student leaders and house leaders, to talk about the way forward and address the state of security of Stellenbosch,” Waltham said.
He added that it was alarming the university did not initially beef up security afterrecent murders countrywide.
“We are questioning the municipality and the university on why they did not deploy more security at the university and at certain hot spots,” Waltham said.
On Facebook messages of condolences were still streaming in for Cornelius as well as raising safety concerns.
Nichola M’Crystal said: “This has honestly made me so upset… I was mugged two weeks ago in Stellenbosch at African Valley with two friends and we were lucky enough not to be harmed… Stay safe guys, this seems to be a weekly occurrence.”
Yusra Petersen said: “I feel so scared for my safety and the safety of all other women in Stellenbosch.”