MTHATHA- Democratic Alliance(DA) in the Eastern Cape is calling for calm after one student died and at least two others were hospitalised following a shooting at Walter Sisulu University’s Mthatha campus this morning, 15th April 2025. In a statement issued by the political party, “Today cannot be seen as an isolated event, it is the latest and most tragic outcome in a long-standing pattern of instability, poor oversight and unchecked escalation at the institution,” DA Eastern Cape.
This tragic shooting comes less than a month after the university shut down all campuses due to violent protests, “It raises serious questions about what steps, if any, were taken in the interim to address the causes of unrest and restore safety,” statement further said.
In March, those protests escalated into violent actions including the intimidation of non-striking students, the forced evacuation of staff and security personnel, vandalism of university property and the suspension of academic operations across campuses.
In addition Shadow MEC for Community Safety Yusuf Cassim stated, “Today’s events allege that a residence manager used live ammunition to disperse protesting students, one student is dead. Two are injured and the institution has once again been brought to a standstill.”
University operations have been suspended and tensions on campus remain high.
Cassim further said, “Clearly, there is a breakdown in communication and university management appears incapable of managing the situation.”
Sout Africa Police Service(SAPS) Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana confirmed the incident occurred on the morning of Tuesday, April 15, at the Mthatha campus.
She said students had mobilised the previous evening, Monday, April 14, to protest the poor condition of their residence. “At about 7am on Tuesday morning, the students went to confront the residence manager, who lives on campus with his family, about the poor state of their residence,” said Gantana.
Photograph: supplied
