Robbery suspects ‘students of WSU’

Two of the three suspects that were arrested in connection with robberies at Walter Sisulu University have been confirmed to be students at the university as well.

The three suspects were arrested on Sunday evening. Police spokesperson Captain Jackson Manatha said they were charged with business burglary. “Computers that were stolen during a burglary at the Ibika campus were recovered from the suspects,” said Manatha.

He said the suspects would appear before the Butterworth magistrate’s court on Wednesday on charges of house robberies.

The Dispatch reported on Monday how students at the Butterworth-based campus were robbed at gunpoint inside their rooms.Manatha said the business burglary cases were committed on September 19 and on Sunday, November 25 - both during the night.

The students have welcomed the arrests, but claimed it was just a drop in the ocean. “Students are not safe just because those three guys have been arrested,” said SRC’s academic and student services officer, Zingisa Tukela.The

Dispatch reported how students at Ibika campus were robbed at gunpoint inside their own rooms at night.

Tukela said they wanted the university to prioritise the issue of safety for all the students. “We have wall fencing that was started in 2016 and until this day it is not finished. People come in and out of the campus as they please. There is no access control to all the residences and random people enter the premises. It is free access for all,” he said.

He said they wanted the fencing to be done when they return for the 2019 academic year. “We want armed security.

They can afford to bring in armed security when there is a protest, they must do the same with the issue of safety of students.”