Police are investigating the murder of a 22-year-old man who was found hanging from the ceiling at Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Stratford Hall residence on Wednesday.
The victim was found dead at the scene and is believed to be a student at the university, SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane confirmed.
“He was found hanging from the ceiling of the residence [on 11 September] at about 2.20pm. There was no weapon with him apart from the rope he hung from. An inquest docket has been opened,” he said. Stratford Hall is a male residence situated on DUT’s Steve Biko Campus in Berea.
This follows an earlier violent incident at a DUT lecture hall in which a student was attacked and robbed. Industrial engineering student Sandile Ndlovu (18) was brutally assaulted on Monday and is currently fighting for his life at Durban’s City Hospital.
Zwane said the incident happened around 5.30pm. “He was found lying on the chair bleeding. The attending officials tried to get a first-aid kit for him as it was unknown who had stabbed him. The attending police official confirmed that the victim had serious stab wounds on his head and was not sure how many there were.”
Sandile’s uncle, Tshepo Mokoena, said the hospital had given the family the option to switch off his nephew’s life support because of the severity of his injuries. “We chose [to continue with life support] because the doctors told us the swelling is coming down and we are hopeful he will recover,” he told Sowetan Live.
DUT has had few answers to the family’s burning questions and told them there was no CCTV footage of the incident, IOL reports. “The institution isn’t helpful with information about what could have happened or any answers to the questions the family has,” Tshepo said.
