Prospective students relive chaos at UJ
"I thought I would die"
SHAKEN: Kwazi Mphakathi of Tsakane in Ekurhuleni and Refilwe Benjamin of Dobsonville in Soweto were injured in a stampede at the UJ yesterday. PHOTOS: SIBUSISO MSIBI
SURVIVORS of yesterday's stampede at the gates of the University of Johannesburg, which left a parent dead and 22 people injured, told how they looked death in the face.
The matriculants were desperately trying to gain access into the campus to register when the commotion happened.
All of them were treated and discharged at the Helen Joseph and Charlotte Maxeke hospitals in Johannesburg.
"I am not going back to that institution. I have seen enough and the experience scared me. I am traumatised," Refilwe Benjamin, of Dobsonville in Soweto, said.
A number of people were admitted at the Helen Joseph hospital in Johannesburg after a stampede at the university's Bunting Road campus yesterday morning.
A mother, who had taken her child for registration, died when desperate students, eager to register, started pushing and shoving, resulting in a stampede.
Kwazi Mphakathi, 16, of Tsakane in Ekurhuleni, said she thought she would die in the melee that ensued when people started pushing one another.
"I thought I would die. I initially came here on Friday but I was told to return on Monday. At around 10.30am we were told by the staff that they were closing. I decided to sleep over so that I would have a better chance of registering in the morning," a shaken Mphakathi said.
She said those who arrived late and the failure by the university's staff to deal with the large number of people led to the chaos.
"People who arrived late were desperate to get to the front and started pushing us. The staff from UJ was also pushing. I fell down and was suffocating. I really thought I would die," she said.
Refilwe Benjamin, 19, of Dobsonville in Soweto, also blamed the university staff.
"The (UJ) crew failed badly to control the people. They should have opened the bigger gates instead of the smaller ones and they should have also made use of their other campuses," she said.
"I lost everything I had in that stampede - ID, wallet and all my statements from school."
A nurse at the hospital said 16 people had been discharged.
sechaba30
Its almost 18 years now into Democracy but ANC has not built a single University. Provinces like Mpumalanga and Northern Cape still operate without a single University. University of Cape Town has only accepted 4000 new first years, it means many students from as far as Namaqualand ( Springbok) will not be able to study this year because they depend on Cape Town Universities. West Coast does not have a single University, Garden Route does not have a single University. Its a shame.Report Abuse
munhu
Welcome to the first world of S.Africa. Believe it or not, this country is going the same way other African countries went after independence. I watched it on Etv last night. a big joke by UJ authorities.Report Abuse
wesbuw22
Shame sad story i feel 4u guys and to loose everythg is a traumatising experience, where's th government to help the injured who lost everythg? or are they busy doing press conferences?Report Abuse
NDA
@ sechaba30Its a shame indeed.
Blade Nzimande said they were going to build more Universities, empty promises as always i wonder when will they stop with lies.
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Afrojoy
Is there no point system for getting into study programmes at universities? If it's there, maybe the reason for over-subscription could be that the entry requirements are too low and every Jack and Jill automatically qualify? A point system can easily screen students so that only the right numbers can be admitted and the rest fall other courses and to lower categories like diplomas etc.....and the rest will have go to distant learning through Unisa etc or find apprenticeship places with companies.Report Abuse
KarlZimbiri
UJ is a shadow of its former self, especially of the old RAU. The old Die Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit was full of apartheid, but it had a smooth administration. There was never any chaos whatsoever regardless of what was at hand.I was a student there from 1996 – 1999. I went back there last year (2011) and what I saw was not impressive. The other day a lady (African) refused me to pay with a cheque card (chip) coz I had no ID, despite I having a student card (with ID no), driver’s licence and work identity card.
So, I’m not surprised that they are failing to control the crowds. With the kind of staff they have, I doubt anything will run smooth.
What pains my heart is that, now majority of the staff are now black, whilst during my first period (1996 – 1999) it was almost all white.
The registrar of that institution is also to blame. Why did he still announce in the media that late applications will be accepted despite already having received (as at 31 October 2011 - closing date)more than three times their target of first years?
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Shoes-Man
Yep, That's what happens when people don't plan. They could have applied long time before december and in that way they could have gained an easy access.Report Abuse
Dinamanama
Goverment is failing its people,we had many colleges in South africa but they closed them,other provinces dont have universities,where must they go?UJ on the other is still taking on application fees knowing that the application will be turned down.sies
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