Police probe student death
WHITTLESEA police are investigating a case of murder after a second-year Walter Sisulu University student, Longamo Gumede, was stabbed to death in extension two in Sada on Friday.
Gumede, 21, who was originally from Mzimkhulu in KwaZulu-Natal, was allegedly approached by two men at about 8pm and stabbed to death, police spokeswoman Captain Namhla Mdleleni confirmed this week.
Police are investigating a case of murder but no arrests have been made.
Mdleleni said the motive for the killing was not known.
Gumede’s friend Innocent Ngcambelo said he was stabbed while walking with his girlfriend.
“He was going to town from the township. When this happened, he was being mugged and he told his girlfriend to run. She came and told us what had happened and we rushed there.”
He said when they arrived on the scene, Gumede was still alive.
“The ambulance came later and the paramedics treated him outside. I asked them to put him inside the ambulance because it was very cold and they told me to keep quiet because they knew what they were doing.”
He said Gumede was a dedicated student who was studying towards a Bachelor of Education degree.
WSU spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo confirmed the incident, saying the student was stabbed outside the campus.
“We received a report from our student affairs section that the incident happened outside the university. We do not investigate things that happen outside campus because the student was not under our care at the time of the incident.”
A memorial service for Gumede was held yesterday.
In a separate incident, police arrested a 23-year-old man on a charge of murder in Komani over the weekend.
Mdleleni said, “It is alleged that the victim, 21, was with the suspect on their way home from a tavern when they had a quarrel. The victim was stabbed to death.”
The suspect appeared in the Komani Magistrate’s Court on Monday and was remanded in custody to allow for a bail application.