Cape Town - The University of Fort Hare (UFH) has raised concerns over how police handled the accident scene in which Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Sakhela Buhlungu’s bodyguard was killed.
Police said that Msingathi Langa, 33, whom UFH described as a loyal and brave employee of the university, died on the scene on Sunday when a driver rammed into his car.
Langa is said to have been a crucial witness in the upcoming murder trial of Buhlungu’s first slain bodyguard, Mboneli Vesele.
Langa’s death comes three months after the VC’s executive protector, Vesele, was murdered in a hail of bullets.
This was amid efforts by the university leadership to rid the institution of corruption.
UFH spokesperson JP Roodt said the university “ventilates and publicly registers concerns over the lack of basic and fundamental procedural forensic protocols on the crime scene”.
“No accident reports were taken or filed before the vehicles were moved. We have established that the Qonce police station omitted to document the vehicle registration details of the car that rammed Mr Langa’s car in the station’s OB (Occurrence Book).
“Concerningly, authorities failed to take blood tests to determine if this was a case of drunken driving or was deliberate, despite the fact that the driver was delivered to the police through a civil arrest by our protection services.
“While authorities knew the identity of the driver responsible already on Sunday, they only made an arrest today (Tuesday). These developments, in our opinion, are highly suspicious. The university formally requests an inquiry into the police’s conduct,” he said.
Roodt said Langa’s family had positively identified the body at the coroner’s office in Qonce on Tuesday.
Eastern Cape police did not respond by deadline on Tuesday to the UFH’s allegations.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Thembinkosi Kinana said: “According to information, the driver who was described as a protector was driving a Mercedes-Benz from the Bisho direction towards Ginsburg with three passengers.
“His vehicle was knocked from the driver's side by a Nissan NP 300. The driver died instantly at Cambridge Road in King William’s Town. It was further alleged that the other three passengers were rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention,” he said.
Meanwhile, the 27-year-old suspect arrested in connection with Langa’s murder was expected to appear in the King Williams Town Magistrate's Court on Tuesday for defeating the ends of justice and driving without a licence.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) did not respond by on Tuesday.
Cape Times