The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is examining the circumstances surrounding the shooting incident where one person was killed at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Soshanguve campus.
IPID spokesperson Moses Dlamini said according to the report received from the South African Police Service (SAPS), students held SRC elections during the day on Thursday. Police were later called to the campus after the presiding officer was allegedly held hostage by the students.
“The police drove into the campus and they managed to rescue the presiding officer. On their way out of the campus, the students allegedly barricaded the entrance of the campus and started throwing stones at the police,” Dlamini said.
Dlamini said a post-mortem of the deceased individual will be conducted and the docket would be collected for further investigations.
Investigators are still verifying whether the victim was a student before releasing an identity.
Violence broke out at the Soshanguve north campus late on Thursday after students claimed that the voting process for a new Student Representative Council (SRC) was rigged.
In a report submitted to IPID, officers claim that they aimed their R5 rifles at the ground and that no one had been injured at the time they left the scene.
The university remains open, but security has been heightened. – SAnews.gov.za
