#DUTshooting: Mlungisi Madonsela was shot in my defence, says DUT official

Durban - DURBAN University of Technology security guards acted in self-defence when student Mlungisi Mandonsela was shot and killed last week.

This was according to a security officer from XTLG T/A Excellent Security Services, the company hired by the university to protect students and staff.

The officer, who asked not to be named, said the protesting students hurled bricks and stones and would not back down, even after warning shots were fired.

Madonsela, 20, was a third-year business administration student from Jozini, north-east KwaZulu-Natal. He was buried at his family home in Msiyane on Thursday.

The officer said a group of about 20 students were throwing bricks and stones and one of them hit Mbali Ntoza, a DUT official, whose nasal bridge was fractured.

“This led to a random shooting by panicking security members who were cornered outside the Open House building. Mlu was hit by a stray bullet,” he said.

He said the incident was regrettable, but there was not much the guards could have done to avert the situation. The officer said he had approached a fellow security officer (now a suspect) who admitted shooting in the air with his firearm, but denied having killed Madonsela.

“He was very close to me. I have no reason not to believe him when he argues that only the ballistic tests will prove his innocence,” said the security guard.

The security guards’ firearms were confiscated by police for investigation.

“It is not clear who exactly killed Madonsela because guards had fired warning shots to ward off the rampaging students, who were mostly wearing EFF regalia,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ntoza who works closely with students as a student development practitioner, said she was recovering at home after her nose had to be reconfigured. She was discharged on Tuesday from Entabeni hospital.

Ntoza said the security guards acted in her defence after she was hit with a brick.

“I dread going back to face students, some of whom I know well and I had cordial relations with,” she said.

Ntoza said after the incident, people assumed that the students were innocent. She said she was surviving on painkillers.

“What about me - I faced death? What did I do to deserve this from my students? Both my children would have been orphaned as a result of ill-considered actions by students,” Ntoza said.

She added that her 3-year-old daughter had nightmares after seeing her injuries, while her son, who is in matric, has not been coping with his studies since the incident.

“This affected my family. I fear going back. It is not possible as now I have flashbacks of what happened. It plays on my mind,”she said.

Ntoza said she felt sorry for the Madonsela family, but the security guards acted in self-defence.

Lundi Mgwili, chief executive of the security company, defended the carrying of firearms by his staff.

“We have a few guards who carry live ammunition to respond to incidents taking place around the perimeter of the institution, to guard students and staff from muggers outside the premises. The rest of our staff do not carry live ammunition,” he said.

He said an internal investigation based on statements from guards who were at the scene suggested that two of them were armed.

Mgwili said the two were now suspects and both on suspension.

“We wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the family, fellow students as well as DUT staff and management for the loss of such a young life. Our hearts are also pained by this unfortunate incident,” Mgwili said.

He said that after the incident his company was being investigated by the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority, which regulates security companies around the country.

No arrest have been made.

Sunday Tribune