Do You Feel Safe At UJ After The Shoot-out?

By Gaby Ndongo (3 mins read)

Due to an armed robbery inside a laboratory of APK on Wednesday, 8^th of March, which resulted to a shoot-out, a number of questions have been posed about the safety of students in the university’s premises. Therefore, The Open Journal went to find out how do the students feel about their safety since the shoot-out unfolded.

Gontse Maubane, 19, a second year mathematical science student

“How do I feel about my safety at school? I don’t feel safe after what you have told me about that thing that happened on Wednesday, and I feel like the University should upgrade the security system – yeah that is all I can say.”

Webster, 22, a second year education student

“Generally, I personally feel like the robbery at UJ [APK] has ‘clicked’ a certain fear and fear of danger in me. I don’t think that the management is doing enough to support students; they are not doing enough to ensure that the campuses are safe because basically this must have been inside information and this must have been worked out with the UJ’s [APK] private security.

“We feel unsafe on campus because of the private security and we think that they [management] should basically just dissolve the private security and get someone else to do the job correctly.”

Keitumetse Sebona, 19, a second-year education student

“My view on this or my take on the robbery that happened recently, I feel that our security guards are useless for starters because one might think that we are safe on campus, but it is clear that we are not safe.

“And I think management should take some serious steps on how to fix this. Cause it is clear that we are not safe, our belongings are not safe, our lives. So I think management should do something and yeah!”

Rayhela Jansen, 19, a first-year journalism student

“Personally the armed robbery was terrifying to hear about and I do fear for my safety although this happened at night. It’s shocking that incidents like that can happen while we have security guards at all our gates. I really hope that was the last of any form of crime on campus and that safety be maintained.”

Mukondeleli Mulaudzi, 29, an alumnus

“Well, I think it is curious you know, ah . . . the security, the amount of resources that have been put into security that something like this will still happen, you know. So it does not make sense to me.

“When I first heard it, I was wondering to myself where were all these security [guards] that are being paid so much, you understand. So that was my initial thinking and that there is so much resources being put into security . . . ah the UJ campus is so securitised at this point but still, students are not safe. So for me, that is one thing that did not make sense.”

Rendani Nemavhulani, 21, a third year language practice student

“Like I don’t feel safe. Firstly because they’ve got cameras here [in the D Labs] but the perpetrators were not caught and today [Monday 13^th of March] when I came to the lab, they told me to hide my tablet but I had to use it. So it is just an inconvenience for me because I’ve to use my tablet but instead of using it [freely] I have to hide it all the time.”

Mutshidzi Mafunisa, 22, a second-year psychology student 

“After the incident, I feel like nobody is safe anymore around here. So maybe they should make a plan in the [university’s] securities. The security should have advanced security and stuff.  Maybe a little bit of extra security because nobody is safe anymore.

“And now students are even afraid to come to the labs because they’ll lose their stuff, you know what I’m saying. So I feel like they should just have securities even at the labs, if they can. May be they can have some guys standing.

“And then the next thing is that we are not the only ones, I mean students, who are not safe also the security are not. So they should make a plan for themselves [securities] also. It is also not only about students and also everyone that comes here [to the university].” TOJ