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STUDENTS CLOSE UNESWA AFTER 3 RAPED, DECRY LAX SECURITY

04/05/2022 09:57:00 Stanley Khumalo

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MATSAPHA – The University of Eswatini (UNESWA) has been closed; this time around by students.

The closure of the tertiary institution was announced by the students to the Dean of Student Affairs (DSA), Musa Kunene, when delivering a petition bemoaning the shortage of security in the institution. Their concern was subsequent to the sexual assault of three students at the Kwaluseni Campus of UNESWA on Friday night. The survivors are first-year students who were housed in one of the dormitories known as ‘Common Room’, which houses learners who are newcomers. According to the students, when presenting their petition, the perpetrator took advantage of the dysfunctional lock at the dormitory. This, they said, was disheartening to them as the office of the warden had been visited several times to report the challenge.

In fact, the students informed the DSA that for seven months, they had raised concerns of poor security and lighting along the institution’s corridors. The Students Representative Council (SRC) Kwaluseni Campus Chairperson, Gab’sile Ndukuya, before reading the petition, requested the students to pray through singing ‘Nkosi Sikelela iAfrica’ – which was a modified version of the known hymn, which is also the national anthem of the Republic of South Africa. Ndukuya said the demands and resolutions that were being presented were made by students in a domestic meeting that was held on Saturday, April 30, 2022, following the sexual violation of the trio. She said students were demanding that security at the gate should be tightened such that entry to the institution should be monitored. This, she said, could be through, for an example, the use of student cards.

The secretary general also said the students were demanding that a new professional security company should be hired as the current one had failed them. It was claimed that the security company was incompetent and ignorant. When reading this, the students responded by shouting ‘yebo’ , which meant that they were in agreement with what was being said. The students, through the petition, also called upon the administration of the institution to install security cameras on all residential blocks of the university. Their last demand was that the office of the warden should be provided with a separate account number, which shall be separate from UNESWA’s account.

Challenge

It was said this would avert the challenge of students being without light bulbs, dysfunctional door locks while also dealing with all dormitory maintenance issues. This demand was reciprocated by various shouts and whistling by the students. The students informed the DSA that in many instances, the administration had failed to avail necessities to the warden’s and maintenance offices yet they (students) paid accommodation fees, which meant they should be supplied with such.

The students further demanded to know from the office of the DSA how the sexual assault occurred within the institution while also expressing their resolution ‘to stop all learning activities’ and demanded the immediate closure of the university. They informed Kunene that they were vacating the institution upon delivering of their petition and would wait for a communique from the office of the director of transport and maintenance, which shall assure them that everything had been sorted in campus and that the university was a safe learning place to be in.

Just before Kunene could address the students after receiving the petition, they burst into song with expletive lyrics that were said to be an exact feeling of the students regarding the manner in which the institution was dealing with their needs and concerns. After being given an opportunity to address them, the DSA thanked the leadership of the SRC who contacted him on the wee hours of Saturday and reported the matter. He said communication was established with the parents of the survivors; but that was not the last. He said the issue spoke to the safety of all students.

“On the commitments undertaken by the university, I understand that you are saying your return shall be when everything it has promised has been done,” Kunene said. He said what was submitted as a petition by the students was well thought of and if it would be analysed by another person, it could still yield the same contents. Kunene bid farewell to the students but requested that the leadership of the university should stay behind, so that they could address the issues immediately. Leading to the delivery of the petition, the students had gathered at the Commerce Block, where they sang political songs before leaving for the offices of the DSA.

As they marched to the administration block, more students joined in as they were estimated to be over 500 when delivering the petition. It is worth noting that the students bid farewell to the administration and informed them that they were leaving the institution as it was not safe for them, just days after the Senate had resolved to beef up security.