WSU security head gets a roasting over attitude at inquiry into shooting of students

Retired Constitutional Court judge Chris Jafta tore into Walter Sisulu University head of security Bulelani Xuma on Monday during a sitting of the commission of inquiry into the shooting of several students, which included the death of Sisonke Mbolekwa, during a student protest in April. 

The independent commission was set up by WSU council chair Prof Tembeka Ngcukaitobi to investigate shooting incidents at the university’s Nelson Mandela Drive campus in Mthatha in 2025.

Residence manager Manelisi Mampane was arrested and charged with Mbolekwa’s murder as well as shooting and wounding two other students, Ntando Gqetywa and Lizwa Ndzumo, during the protest.

Xuma was on the stand on Monday being cross-examined by lawyers representing the aggrieved families..

Sparks flew when Jafta accused Xuma of being evasive, attempting to suppress information and not taking the commission seriously after Xuma contradicted himself under cross-examination by lawyer Abongile Dumile, who represents the Mbolekwa and Gqetywa families.

Xuma produced a report of an incident on March 12 when a female student was shot and wounded, allegedly by security guards, while sitting next to a tree.

Dumile asked why he had failed to include in this report that another female had accused him of assaulting her.

Xuma said he had not thought it would come up again, as the claim was untrue.

He said he remembered “a lady” shouting she had been assaulted with a sjambok, pointing at him.

But Jafta wanted to know why this information had not been included in Xuma’s report and why he had not told the commission of it.

“You are now revealing this because you are asked about it.

“Your job was to a give a detailed report. You did not mention to us you were carrying a sjambok.

“You suppress information. You do not tell us about the sjambok and that you were accused of assaulting someone.

“In your statement, you say you do not understand why there was a shooting because there was no protest, it had ended.”

Xuma had also told the commission that despite a request to send in a reaction unit from the KaMyaluza Security Services company to rescue Mampane and his family, who feared for their lives as students were protesting outside their home, the unit had been unable to go in as the situation was too volatile and it was not equipped to deal with a riot situation.

Jafta wanted to know why a WSU official on the campus with Mampane and his family had insisted on sending in the reaction unit.

Xuma said the situation had necessitated the presence of the police.

Jafta charged: “You were able to call the police who were outside, but you could not call the reaction unit?

“Is that what you are telling us? Are you taking this process seriously?”

Xuma responded that the unit members had been underpowered and had been chased off campus on April 15, the day of Mbolekwa's shooting, by protesting students.

Last week, he told the commission that though police members from the public order police unit’s information desk had been outside the campus on the day Mbolekwa was shot, they had refused to enter without the university’s written permission until he had spoken to provincial deputy commissioner Major-General Thandiswa Kupiso.

Jafta told Xuma: “You are not helping. I am giving you an opportunity to explain yourself so that the report does not state you are being an evasive witness.

“If there’s a reason not to call the reaction unit, just tell us.”

Jafta lashed out at Xuma for wasting the commission’s time by failing to give straight answers after he was asked why another security official would ask him to send the reaction unit to rescue them if he was competent enough to assess the situation.

Xuma then confirmed the reaction unit had managed to get on campus, but said it could not do anything.

Jafta questioned why he had not revealed this. “The university has set up this commission to investigate what happened and you are not helping us.”

Daily Dispatch