We go to learn, not to die: UDESMO demands justice at Nelson Mandela University
Statement by Lucia Matomane, UDESMO Eastern Cape Provincial Chairperson
The United Democratic Students’ Movement (UDESMO) in the Eastern Cape deeply is outraged and heartbroken by last night’s brutal break-in at a Nelson Mandela University (NMU) residence in Summerstrand, a crime that left one female student stabbed to death and another gravely injured. This is not just another headline. This is a fellow student gone. A family shattered, and a community with trust broken.
For too long, NMU students, especially women, have lived in fear in places that are supposed to be safe. How many times have we heard of robberies, altercations, deaths, or threats in off-campus residences, or on-campus spaces where security is lax?
In 2023, there was the murder of Zimkhitha Ntshisela, a student at NMU’s George campus, who was violently stabbed in her own room, and in October 2024, another NMU student was killed during an altercation with a residence manager at a private off-campus residence.
These are not isolated incidents; they form a pattern of negligence, of broken promises, of inadequate leadership. We cannot accept a reality where our institutions of learning become unsafe spaces for the very youth we send to build their futures. How does an armed and unknown man gain access to a residence undetected? Where was security when our sisters were under attack? These are questions NMU must answer urgently and transparently.
We demand accountability from the university. The safety of students cannot continue to be an afterthought. We call on NMU management to immediately review and strengthen its security measures at all residences, both on and off campus. Our children are sent to university to learn, not to be killed.
We stand in solidarity with the families, friends, and the entire NMU community as they mourn this senseless loss. May the soul of the departed rest in peace, may the injured student make a full and speedy recovery, and may justice be served without delay.
