One man sit-in Mr Maanda Tshithavhane (25) of Maungani said he would not leave the college until his money had been paid in full.

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The bogus colleges saga took a nasty turn this week, when an enraged man staged a one-man sit-in at Vhembe City College in Thohoyandou, an institution that is allegedly not registered. He demanded that he be refunded the money he had paid for his wife’s tuition.

Mr Maanda Tshithavhane (25) of Maungani, outside Thohoyandou, who is self-employed, said that due to financial constraints, he could not take his wife to university at the beginning of the year. “I felt it would be a waste of time for her to sit at home doing nothing the whole year and then I decided to send her to the college to study for a Human Resources diploma,” he said.

“I read last week’s edition of Mirror where we were advised to check if colleges were registered or not and I decided that I should visit the school and enquire,” he said. On Monday, he rushed to the college where he was met by the wife of the college director and a man who claimed to be a lecturer.

“I could sense that something was not right by the rude welcome that I received from the staff. They did not help me as I had requested, but even went to the extent of threatening to call the police on me,” he said. He added that, after confirming with the department, he had gone back to the college and demanded that he be refunded the more than R3 000 he had already paid. “I worked very hard to get the money to send my wife to school and nothing will stop me from fighting for what is rightfully mine. I will not leave these premises without my money,” he said, clutching the payment slips that he had kept after paying.

Tshithavhane said that he was worried that not only his wife had lost thousands, but many others had also fallen victim, but didn’t have the guts to stand up and speak for themselves. “These people are worse than killers. How could they take money from the poor, knowing that they are not registered? They have taken away the futures of many students, and this is damage they could never repair. I wonder why police are not arresting them, knowing that they are not registered,“ he said. He confirmed that he would stage the sit-in until his money had been paid back in full, failing which he would report the matter to the police.

Mirror’s request for a comment from the college was met with a hostile reaction. A man who did not want to identify himself said that it was not for the media to meddle in the affairs between students and the college. He said that every student was fully briefed about the school before registering, and that they knew the correct channels if they had a problem.

“Who are you to speak on behalf of the students? We do not have anything to say to you,” said the angry man before banging down the phone.

At the time of going to press, more than 20 students were busy seeking legal assistance to recoup their monies from the college through the local Legal Aid Offices in Thohoyandou. Some have even laid charges against the institution. Mr Tshithavhane later left the premises of the institution after intervention by the police.

In a sequel to the incident, the owner of the institution was arrested on Monday. Michael Rambani (29) appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court, charged with operating an illegal institution. He was released on bail of R3 000 and the case was postponed to August 31.

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