TUT student murder: ‘If they give him bail, we will kill him’, RCL President

The man accused of killing Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Ntokozo Mayenzi Xaba, 20, abandoned his bail application when he appeared at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The 23-year-old rugby player, Ngcebo Thusi, was arrested shortly after Xaba, his ex-girlfriend, was found dead in her off-campus residence.

National Prosecuting Authority

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said it was alleged Thusi was the last person to leave Xaba’s place at midnight or in the early hours of the morning, after she and her other friends had a social gathering at her home in Pretoria Gardens on 1 February.

“The deceased’s lifeless body with multiple stab wounds was found in the morning by friends when they went to check on her. “The matter was reported to the police and the accused was arrested on 2 February, 2023.”

Charges

Thusi faces charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice. His lawyer, advocate DS Bopape, told magistrate Macro Richards his instruction from Thusi was to bar the media from taking his pictures, but Richards overruled him, saying the case was in the public interest.

Bopape said they would be bringing a formal application in the future to prevent pictures of Thusi and himself being taken in court.

He said his client was abandoning his bail “for now”. Prosecutor advocate Mashudu Nembulunge said: “We should guard against abandoning now and tomorrow he comes back and says he wants to do bail. Even if he says this for now, it is clear he is abandoning bail.

“We want to postpone the matter for a longer date, at least 6 April, for further investigation.” A relative could be heard sobbing in the gallery, saying: “You are so happy you even have a lawyer, while my child did not have a lawyer.”

ALSO READ: Gender Equality Commission seeks meeting with TUT management over Ntokozo Xaba’s murder

‘Correctional services have failed us’

Outside court, TUT Soshanguve campus student representative council president Sizwe Nyambi reiterated calls by students for Thusi to be denied bail.

Last week, several students who attended Thusi’s first appearance threatened to kill him. “You can’t undermine someone’s rights to life and then your rights to life must not be undermined.

Correctional services have failed us, the justice services have failed us, women are killed day and night and nothing is happening,” said Nyambi.

“We need to stand up and we need not be cowards if we call ourselves revolutionaries and activists. We need to fight the oppression against women. We can’t fold our arms while our women are being killed like that.”

Nyambi said South Africa had been quiet while children and women were being killed like chickens. “The government is doing nothing about this and they have no plan, so we must assist them as activists. I have come out in public to say if they give him bail, we will kill him,” he said.

‘Action must be taken’

Another student, Tshepo Sehume, said he fully supported the calls by students to take law into their own hands if Thusi was to be granted bail because the justice system keeps failing them.

“If these people are not being taught a lesson, they will continue to do all these things they are doing. If he was granted bail today, it was going to be ugly. There must be action taken against men or women who kill,” he said.

Economic Freedom Fighters’ Naledi Mpungose said if political parties do not show solidarity with those who have been victims of gender-based violence, they end up not getting justice.

“It is very important that as civil society we render our voices very loud and clear that we want justice in a space of six months because the justice system has enough tools to deal with this case.” The matter was postponed to 30 March for further investigations.

ALSO READ: TUT student Ntokozo Xaba’s murder accused abandons bail, case postponed

– lungam@citizen.co.za