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M U T

S P I R I T

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J A N U A R Y - M A R C H 2 0 2 0

MUT supports family of slain student

A dark cloud fell on MUT on 1 May 2018, the day the

University received the news that one of its students,

Zolile Khumalo, had been killed. Zolile, then a first-

year Quantity Surveying student, had been shot at

Lonsdale Hotel, an off-campus student residence, by

her ex-boyfriend Thabani Mzolo. In the last few years

a number of South African university students have

been killed by people they knew, and Zolile’s death

brought home the horror of gender-based violence.

The Department of Marketing and

Communications was one of the

departments that acted as soon as

they got the shocking news. In addition

to disseminating key information, they

decided to find out more about the

student and her family. They knew that

the incident would grow into a big story,

and that it would include more hardship

for the family in Eshowe, in northern

KwaZulu-Natal.

This

assumption

proved very true for Solomuzi Khumalo

and his wife Princess. Zolile was the

fifth child they had lost, leaving them

with only one child, Senamile, who lives

in Ngonyameni on the west of Umlazi Township.

Solomuzi, a pensioner, said life was hard for the

family. “We are struggling financially. We have to

look after our grandchildren,” he said. The family had

pinned their hopes on Zolile to look after them after

graduating and securing a job. Solomuzi and Princess

were badly affected by Zolile’s passing. Senamile said

her father cries a lot, and one day told her “not to be in

a relationship with a man who did not go to church. He

is always aware that some men do not accept that the

relationship has ended, and resort to violence,” said

Senamile.

Solomuzi and Princess said they were coping with the

situation because of their religion. “This is what gives

us strength. Other church members in our area pray

for us, and with us on Wednesday when we meet at

different houses,” said Solomuzi.

On the afternoon of 5 March 2020, the last day of

Thabani Mzolo’s trial, they called the church members

and informed them that Thabani had been sentenced

to life imprisonment. Zolile’s parents were very happy

with this verdict. Solomuzi and Princess had sat on the

hard, unforgiving court benches for a week, listening

to the recounting of the events that unfolded on 1 May

2018 and in the days that followed. Senamile said her

parents were wrecked by the court visit; it brought

back all the sad times they had been through.

Being aware of how tough it would be for the Khumalo

family to be in court, MUT made arrangements to

soften the blow. On the first day of that week, the

University arranged a gender-based violence protest

walk from the Lonsdale Hotel, where Zolile was

murdered. “Although we did not know how long

the trial was going to last, we decided to continue

supporting the family as we were aware of how hard

it has been for them. On the first day of the trial we

drove them home, and fetched them the following

morning. We arranged a place for them to stay as the

distance from Durban to Eshowe is more than 140km.

Imagine having to drive that distance twice a day,”

said Mbali Mkhize, Senior Director: Marketing and

Communications. Mbali’s department drove the family

home on the last day of the trial too, a gesture greatly

appreciated by the Khumalos. Solomuzi and Princess

were also very happy to meet the Vice-Chancellor of

the University, Dr Enoch Duma Malaza.

Dr Malaza giving the media MUT’s response to the outcome

of the trial

The Khumalo family outside Durban High Court: from left, Senamile, Zolile’s

sister, Mr Khumalo, Mrs Khumalo, and Zolile’s aunt, Mrs Khethiwe Ngema