Unizulu professor murdered
POLICE are investigating the brutal murder of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand (Unizulu), who was gunned down in Empangeni on Tuesday afternoon.
Professor Gregory Kamwendo (53) was shot and killed in his vehicle at his place of residence, Durnford Heights, at about 5.15pm.
Reports indicate Kamwendo had driven into the complex, parked in his parking bay and was still inside his gold Toyota Yaris when a lone gunman approached the vehicle and fired four shots through the driver’s side window, all of which pierced the chest of the Malawian national.
Police confirmed nothing was taken during the incident, leading them to believe that it was a planned ‘hit’ or assassination.
King Cetshwayo Police spokesperson, Captain Mbongeni Mdlalose, said local detectives are investigating and it is not clear whether a provincial task team will be assigned to deal with the case
‘Laptops and cellphones were recovered from the victim’s vehicle, the items will be sent for analysis and will form part of the investigation.
‘At this stage the attacker is not known and neither is the motive.
‘We are investigating a case of murder,’ said Mdlalose.
It is unclear if there had been any witnesses to the murder, with police denying that anyone had seen Kamwendo being shot.
A source told the ZO at the scene of the crime that he had seen someone wearing a hoody walk out of the complex shortly after the four shots were fired, while another claimed that the gunman had walked out of the complex and jumped into a white Corsa bakkie.
Police could not confirm these reports.
Unizulu spokesperson, Gcina Nhleko, said the University is devastated by the untimely passing of Kamwendo.
‘He served the University from 2016, following his tenure as the Dean of the College of Education at the University of KwaZuluNatal (UKZN).
‘Professor Kamwendo was a knowledge fountain and he will be sorely missed by the entire Unizulu community,’ Nhleko said in a statement.
While there is no direct link, Kamwendo’s murder follows an email, which had been sent to the ZO late last year, that highlighted allegations of foreign nationals being awarded positions at senior level at Unizulu.
The email made specific reference to the Faculty of Arts Department.
An extract reads: ‘Foreigners commit all kinds of irregularities and make themselves prone to internal investigations, ranging from misconduct, alleged computer fraud, theft of information and allegedly selling it to the outside world, fraud and corruption which is almost the norm and daily routine at the university.’
A source, who knew Kamwendo personally, said he had recently held back a number of post-graduate students.
‘He was seen as making his own rules and that angered many at times.
‘Before graduation there was a bit of anger that I could pick up on because there were some post-graduate students whose work had been held back as it didn’t meet criteria that he (Kamwendo) believed would be declined at higher degrees level.’
‘I don’t have facts but since he came (to Unizulu) South African academics were marginalised.’