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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