General view of the entrance of the University of Fort Hare in Alice, Eastern Cape. Photo: Supplied/University of Fort Hare
Police in the Eastern Cape have confirmed reports that a second bodyguard for Fort Hare University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, has been killed in a hit-and-run car crash.
“The accident which occurred in the early hours of Sunday the 30th April 2023 at about 1:20 in the early morning and which allegedly claimed the life of Fort Hare University employee,” said Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana.
“According to the information, the driver who is a described as a ‘protector’ was driving a Mercedez Benz from Bisho direction towards Ginsburg with three (3) passengers. His vehicle was knocked from the driver’s side by Nissan NP 300.
The driver died instantly at the scene of crime at Cambridge Road in King Williams Town,” Kinana said in a statement to The Citizen.
Investigations are underway. It is understood three other passengers were rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention.
“No arrests made at this stage. Investigation continues.”
While details remain sketchy, it’s understood the deceased, who was the second man hired to provide personal protection to Buhlungu, was on his way to Alice campus on Sunday morning when the incident took place.
He was also rumoured to be a crucial witness in the upcoming murder trial of Buhlungu’s first slain bodyguard.
UPDATE: Brigadier Kinana confirmed the driver was escorting three passengers towards Ginsburg when his vehicle was “knocked from the driver’s side by a Nissan NP 300.”
Kinana said the driver died instantly at the scene of the crime (Cambridge Road in King Williams Town). The circumstances leading to the incident are currently under investigation.
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The higher educational institution, whose student alumni include struggle icon and South Africa’s first democratically elected president Nelson Mandela, is now a battleground rife with corruption and assassinations.
The hit-and-run comes three months after Buhlungu’s first bodyguard, Mboneli Vesele, was gunned down in what is suspected to have been an assassination attempt.
That shooting took place outside the vice-chancellor’s Alice residence and Buhlungu escaped unharmed.
Five suspects were arrested in connection with the murders of two UFH employees, including Vesele and the institution’s fleet manager Petrus Roets.
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The suspects include two former UFH employees who are facing multiple charges of murder and attempted murder of employees attached to the university.
They are Bongani Peter, Sicelo Mbulawa, Wanini Khuza, Mthobisi Khanyile and Mthobisi Dlamini/Zondo.
Buhlungu’s appointment at UFH in 2016 didn’t sit well with corrupt syndicates fleecing the institution of its resources for years, and bringing governance to near-collapse.
The violence started creeping in as the fight to eradicate corruption was ramped up over the years, including the ongoing Special Investigative Unit (SIU) investigation, and a police task team set up by Police Minister Bheki Cele.
*This is a developing story
Additional reporting by Thapelo Lekabe and Getrude Makhafola
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