A 4th year female student identified as Vespers Shimuzhila at the University of Zambia Great East road Campus suffocated and died in her room when police allegedly teargas canisters in her room.

The incident happened on Thursday as students protested over government’s failure to pay their allowances.

Shimuzhila, who is said to have been asthmatic was a student from the school of Adult education and could not save her life from the smoke that engulfed the October Hostels in which she resided.

When approached for a comment on the incident, the president of Zambia, Edgar Lungu attributed the student’s death to a proverbial “hyena that ate the old woman”.

“Remember there is a saying that ubushiku mukote alubile elo chimbwi chanya imfwi, you know Bemba, what does that tell you? An old woman disappears from the village, the next day a hyena defecates white hair. I think Madam Siliya made a comment, we are waiting, we don’t want to speculate, thank you,” said President Lungu.