Profile: An open eye that's never seen

While crime usually thrives under the cover of darkness, Sibusiso Motaung has taken it upon himself to help protect students on Empire Road at night.

Sibusiso Motaung spends his days asking for change at the intersection between Yale and Empire Road. But by night, he becomes an informant for Wits Campus Security to help keep students safe.

Sibusiso Motaung. Photo: Kabir Jugram.

Living in Daveyton, Sibusiso has been traveling to Wits daily for the past 2 months in the hopes of raising funds to take care of his niece- his sole family member in Johannesburg. Even on a cold, rainy day (such as when I interviewed him), he can be seen walking up and down the street asking passing motorists for spare change.

Sibusiso can be found outside the Wits entrance on Empire asking for change at the intersection. It is this same area he guards at night. Photo: Kabir Jugram

But life is not all about money for Sibusiso.  He lives by a philosophy of spreading as much love and joy as possible in his lifetime. For this reason, he has taken the initiative of watching over the streets as students leave and enter campus at night. He tends to wait by the intersection till 11 p.m. to perform this voluntary role. This role includes noting suspicious vehicles or people hovering around Wits’ entrance on Empire and reporting incidents to campus security as soon as they arise. He claims muggings and robberies from Uber drivers are the most prevalent crimes he witnesses.

However, when reaching out to campus security for confirmation, much of the staff stated that they were not allowed to speak to the media. And while no staff could confirm Sibusiso’s story, a security guard working the nightshift stated (anonymously) that campus security does utilize tip-offs from multiple off-campus sources to assist vulnerable students. These tip-offs mainly relate to incidents such as muggings and robberies by fake Uber drivers (as Sibusiso claims). Importantly, these tip-offs enable security to respond to situations quicker and deploy back-up as necessary.

If Sibusiso's story is true, he adds an extra layer of security for students once they exit Wits' gates. Photo: Kabir Jugram

If Sibusiso is an informant, he plays an important role in keeping students safe as they leave Wits at night. All this he does whilst appearing as a mere beggar to the students who pass him by. This does not phase him, however, as his philosophy of love is enough to give him satisfaction: “Life’s not about money. (It) is about love, joy, and God. Life is about that, so we must all help each other.”