Five held over murder of 21-year-old on Fort Hare campus

Five students from the University of Fort Hare (UFH) in the Eastern Cape are expected to appear in the Alice magistrate’s court on Monday in connection with the murder of a fellow student at the institution on Saturday.

Eastern Cape police spokesperson W/O Majola Nkohli confirmed the five were arrested over their alleged involvement in the killing.  

“The deceased person was a 21-year-old male student at the institution. The circumstances surrounding the incident are forming part of the investigation,” he said.  

The suspects are between 22 and 25 years old.

Fort Hare University spokesperson JP Roodt confirmed the student’s death, which occurred at about 3.20am on Saturday.  

He said from the initial investigation report, witnesses indicated an altercation began at the Disco nightclub in Alice and moved onto campus.  

“A full university investigation is under way and will be presented to the university’s senior management later today [Monday]. The institution opened a case at the Alice police station on Saturday afternoon,” he said.  

He said the police responded swiftly, and five suspects were arrested.  

He said if the suspects are registered UFH students, the institution will issue precautionary suspension notices to them before their formal disciplinary hearings.  

“This means they will also be asked to evacuate the campus and their residences with immediate effect.

“Yesterday [Sunday], a UFH delegation met and informed the next of kin of our deceased student. The university’s student counselling unit is providing psychosocial support to students and staff,” he said.  

TimesLIVE