Johannesburg - The student leadership at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) has vowed to keep true to their vow to take matters into their own hands should junior Blue Bulls player Ngcebo Thusi be granted bail.
Thusi, 23, was left to fend for himself in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court yesterday after his legal counsel was a no-show for his scheduled bail application.
Through the assistance of an interpreter, he informed the court that it had been a few weeks since he had heard from his legal counsel.
This was not the first time that Thusi's hopes to be released on bail were dashed, as he appeared earlier this month but had to be turned back after the court experienced trouble with its recording machines.
During his appearance yesterday, the court informed Thusi that his matter would be rolled over to the next month, yet he pleaded with the magistrate to allow his bail application also be heard on the same day or the following day.
The magistrate, however, explained to the rugby player that the court would be unable to schedule a date for a bail application in the absence of his legal counsel.
He will be appearing on charges of murder and defeating the administration of justice for the alleged murder of TUT's 21-year-old third-year Integrated Communication student, Nthokozo Xaba.
Xaba was found dead in her room at Ekhaya Junction in Pretoria Gardens with stab wounds on her neck on February 2.
Thusi was arrested after the police discovered that he was the last person to be seen with Xaba at her student residence.
Sizwe Nyambi, the president of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at TUT, said they were following the court proceedings and remained steadfast in their call that Thusi should not be released on bail.
‘’If you kill a woman or anyone, you have taken away their right to life, so why should your rights be respected? We will continue to attend court and ensure that they feel our call for him not to be released.’’
Speaking at Xaba's memorial service in February and outside the magistrates' court following Thusi's appearance in court, Nyambi vowed that they would kill the Blue Bulls should he be released.
‘’Those who kill don't deserve rights; they are not humans. That is why I said outside court that if they release him, we will kill him. The university tried to uplift him, and he brought the institution into disrepute. We will never tolerate that stain as young men.’’
The Star