Man accused of TUT student Ntokozo Xaba’s murder appears in court

• Ntokozo Xaba was stabbed to death at the Tshwane University of Technology last week. 
• Her ex-boyfriend, Ngcebo Thusi, was arrested and charged with murder.
• Thusi appeared in court on Monday, where a number of TUT students called for him to be denied bail.

“He’s a killer… you took her from us.”

This was one of the songs chanted by Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) students after Ngcebo Thusi, accused of murdering Ntokozo Xaba, made his first appearance in court.

Thusi, 23, briefly appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Standing in the dock, wearing a grey hoodie and jeans, Thusi, with arms folded, looked ahead as the packed gallery did not take their eyes off him.

With some members in the gallery quietly jeering, the State asked for the matter to be postponed in order to obtain Thusi’s criminal profile and his fixed address for purposes of bail.

After the matter was postponed, around 80 TUT students started singing and chanting.

One of the students addressed the crowd and was resolute that they would fight against Thusi being granted bail.

“If they give him bail, we are going to kill him,” the student said.

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Thusi has been charged with defeating the ends of justice and murder after he allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend, Xaba, at a TUT residence on Wednesday night.

According to police, the two were allegedly drinking with friends on the night before the murder. The friends allegedly left them, and Xaba’s body was found with stab wounds to the neck the following day.

Ekhaya Junction Management, which manages the residence where the murder allegedly took place, said in a statement it was made aware on Thursday morning that Xaba’s friends were unable to get hold of her on her cellphone.

Paramedics rushed to the scene, where they found Xaba unresponsive in her room. She was declared dead at the scene, the statement read.

Ntokozo Xaba.

Facebook/Charles Awuzie/Netwerk24

Thusi, who is studying towards a chemical engineering degree, was a promising scrumhalf and played for the university’s first team, News24 reported.

In addition, he had played one match for the Blue Bulls Rugby Union’s Country District side, which allows players the opportunity to be scouted into the professional ranks.

Meanwhile, the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) said they would reach out to TUT following the killing and called for Thusi’s bail to be denied.

“The CGE is saddened by this senseless killing, which adds to the list of gender-based violence (GBV) murders that have taken place within institutions of higher learning,” it said in a statement.

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“We implore the criminal justice system to speedily process all GBV-related cases, deny perpetrators bail, and ensure a high number of convictions,” said CGE chief executive Phelisa Nkomo.

The commission added that it previously conducted investigations to assess gender transformation and GBV at public universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, to ascertain the safety of women on campuses and residences.

“More than 15 vice chancellors appeared before the commission to help the commission understand gender-related problems at their institutions.

“One of the numerous recommendations we made was for the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to institute policies and procedures to deal with the scourge of gender-based violence at institutions of higher learning.

“We urge DHET to speedily ensure the implementation of our recommendations in this area.”

Thusi is expected to appear in court again on 13 February.