The University of Fort Hare (UFH) convocation executive committee has honoured its pledge to provide financial support to Nosicelo Mtebeni’s family, by handing over a cheque of R152 400 that was promised to the family, following the death of their daughter.
The amount includes the R50 000 the UFH convocation already handed over to the family, shortly after Nosicelo’s funeral, in Matatiele last year, which was meant to plug the financial hole the family experienced due to funeral costs.
Nosicelo Mtebeni (23), a final-year law student at UFH’s East London Campus, was gruesomely murdered and her body cut into pieces by her boyfriend in Quigney, East London in August last year.
“The money will be shared equally between Nosicelo’s parents, as they are no longer married. We also have the Chris Hani Cooperative Development Centre (CHCDC) and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) among us, who will ensure that they impart some business skills to the family and progress has been made in that regard,” said UFH convocation president, Advocate Andile Mini, during the official handover held at the Mayfair Hotel in Mthatha, on June 23.
Mini added that they handed over the money to the family without conditions attached although, as the UFH convocation, they wished it could be used to start something that will sustain them in the long run.
“Our commitment, on behalf of the UFH convocation, is towards skills development and making sure that the Mtebeni family participates in the business component, while also ensuring that they are sustainable beyond the financial support offered by the convocation,” added Chris Hani Cooperative Development Centre chief executive, Abongile Hala.
The late Nosicelo’s father, Kholisile Mtebeni, said the money will be used to start a business to be able to send Nosicelo’s younger siblings to tertiary institutions.
“The plan is to use the money made available by the UFH convocation to start a business, so as to be in a financial position to finance the tertiary education of Nosicelo’s siblings that are still at school,” he said.
