Student activist Vusi Mahlangu is safe but 'in hiding'

Student activist Vusi Oldman Mahlangu is safe and has made contact with friends by SMS.

Mametlwe Sebei‚ a fellow activist and friend of Mahlangu‚ confirmed this on Friday afternoon.

“[Mahlangu] is not willing to disclose his location. He is in hiding. He has only minor bruises from whatever incident drove him into hiding‚” Sebei said.

Sebei said that the #OutsourcingMustFall movement would release a formal statement once they have more information.

Mahlangu‚ 33‚ a member of the Black Student Movement (BSM) and spokesperson for #OutsourcingMustFall‚ was last seen around 10am on Tuesday.

According to a Twitter post by BSM‚ Mahlangu was said to have left a friend's home in Mthatha to attend a meeting with outsourced workers at Walter Sisulu University‚ but he never arrived.

The last message Mahlangu sent‚ at 4.30pm on Tuesday‚ read: “I am either kidnapped or arrested and I am bleeding … In a dark place at Mthatha‚ my phone is about to die.”

The police and private investigators have been investigating Mahlangu's disappearance.

Eastern Cape police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela on Friday said‚ “We are not aware [of Mahlangu's safety]. We have not yet seen [Mahlangu]. We are still doing our investigation.”