'UJ PhD student killed by taxi driver'

A University of Johannesburg PhD student was killed by a taxi driver outside its Sophiatown residence, colleagues said this week.

The police have confirmed a case of culpable homicide was under investigation; while the university said it would issue a statement later on Friday.

Colleagues of Baraka Leonard Nafari, a Tanzanian national, say he was killed in the early hours of Friday, February 23. His colleagues and friends issued a joint media statement about his death.

They say CCTV footage shows Nafari and a fellow UJ student running for their lives while two men in a taxi pursue them.

“As Baraka and his friend run for safety‚ they flee toward the UJ Sophiatown residency‚ however the taxi violently pursues them‚ such that the taxi deliberately struck Baraka against the fence of the UJ Sophiatown residence‚ and [this] marks the death of Baraka‚” the colleagues said in a statement‚ which was distributed by the African Diaspora Forum.

They said UJ prided itself on being a pan-African institution‚ a home for students from across the continent. “Baraka was a Tanzanian citizen and we welcomed him here. We are disturbed that the university‚ so proud of its international students‚ has not yet issued a public statement condemning this appalling murder.”

The university said it would comment later on Friday about the allegations levelled by the colleagues.

The African Diaspora Forum said it planned a meeting at the university’s Sophiatown residence on Monday to understand why it had taken long for the university to respond.