'Is this your government?' Outrage as DUT student shot and killed amid protest action

06 February 2019 - 10:05
By Odwa Mjo
Outrage on social media as #DUTShooting trends.
Image: Times Media Outrage on social media as #DUTShooting trends.

#DUTShooting trended on social media on Tuesday and Wednesday as news emerged that a student had been fatally wounded at the Durban University of Technology.

The university released a statement announcing that DUT would be closed until further notice due to the events that took place on campus on Tuesday, which also left a staff member severely injured.

The university said that the student died while receiving medical care in hospital. 
TimesLIVE reported that police were unsure whether the student had been shot by a security guard.

"Right now, it is not clear who shot who," Colonel Thembeka Mbele said. "But what we do know is that there was a confrontation between the security guards and the students. But we don't know where the shot came from."

Protest action began at DUT, UKZN campuses and Wits University this week as students demanded that their financial and accommodation grievances be addressed.

The news of the fatal shooting caused much outrage on Twitter.