Death in mask row
Buffalo City College finance students still waiting on NSFAS money
A family in Mooi River, KZN, is preparing to bury a 24-year-old DJ who died after being shot following an alleged argument over a mask.
Zama Mchunu said she was alerted to the shooting of her brother Lindokuhle (pictured), a local DJ, at the Mooi Mpofana municipal offices on Tuesday by a friend.
Mchunu said the family was also informed that a female municipal employee was involved in the alleged argument.
KZN SAPS spokesperson Col Thembeka Mbele said: “A case of murder was opened at Mooi River police station and a 31year-old man was arrested. He is expected to appear today [Thursday] in the Mooi River magistrate’s court.”
Mchunu will be buried on Friday. — Yasantha Naidoo
A group of hungry Buffalo City College finance students in East London held a silent protest on Thursday at their campus to beg for food money.
Standing in St Mark’s Road with placards raised, the small group of N6 financial management students pleaded for help from the college managers.
They said they had arrived mostly from rural areas far from the city expecting to feed themselves from their NSFAS loans but no money had been disbursed yet.
A number of the students were squatting in a lecture room.
Esihle Majarana, who travelled from Ngqeleni village near Mthatha, said: “I had bit of money with me when I got here and stayed in Nxarhuni near Mdantsane because the residences weren’t open.
“It cost about R60 a day to travel and I ran out of money. There’s no NSFAS loan funds coming through right now and my classmates are having the same problem.
“Lectures carry on even though we are unable to find accommodation. We’ve been fed by college cleaners, who themselves have so little.
“We came to a decision as a group to sleep in an empty lecture room.
“We share the toiletries we have among us but we’re running out. We use cold water to wash.
“We’re not from around East London, we have nowhere else to go,” Majarana said.
Ayabonga Mahobo from Butterworth said he had been fortunate enough to stay with a friend for short time.
“I was only supposed to stay with my friend until I can stay at the residence.
“But the days go by and as a person, you see and feel that you’re infringing upon someone’s hospitality — people do get tired.
“I’m too scared to call home, painful as it is for me. What about them back home? And if they tell me to come home I’ll miss out on classes.
“Someone bought us bread this morning [Thursday] and we’ve shared those slices among us. This is a lot to take in,” Mahobo said.
The students were stressing about where they could live until NSFAS paid them, which could take weeks or months.
“We’re semester students, and normally around April we start our exams. Where will we be then?” Majarana said.
Nandipha Ngxokela said although she was fortunate enough to live with her family in East London, her heart went out to the out-of-town students and so she joined their demonstration.
“We are literally begging here. The college has called the police and bouncers but this has not been violent at all.
“There has been no blockade, no destroying property, we are not even singing.
“When I come to class, I make it a point to bring extra food. I know they’ve tried to engage the college management to assist,” Ngxokela said.
The students say the college has started to find them temporary accommodation.
BCC acting principal Patrick Mawila said: “The reopening of the college is determined through the higher education department calendar, which stipulates when all colleges can resume teaching and learning in a phase-in approach, in line with the Covid-19 alert level 3.
“The college council and management has written to the department and NSFAS to intervene. The college has further started a process to find private residence to accommodate students while college residences are under renovation.
“We’re also, while working with the department, looking at interim measures to temporarily house students and cater for them until the NSFAS funding processes are concluded,” Mawila said.