Trauma over panga attack at Richards Bay school

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Published Aug 21, 2017

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Durban - More disturbing video footage of schoolyard violence has surfaced in KwaZulu-Natal.

The provincial Department of Education has obtained two clips of vicious brawling at Richards Bay Secondary School on the North Coast.

It said at the weekend that the videos, which look as though they were filmed on a cellphone, were taken on Friday.

The department said it was alleged that some pupils were in possession of knives and guns, and that shots were fired on the school premises.

The first of the videos, which is 12 seconds long, begins with a group of boys walking across a school field.

One produces what appears to be a large knife or a panga and slams it into another boy. The crowd of children around them screams.

The second video is 21 seconds long and shows a group of boys fighting with one another in a courtyard. Again, one is wielding what looks like a knife or a panga and he attacks another boy with it.

The MEC for Education in the province, Mthandeni Dlungwana, is scheduled to visit the school on Monday to meet with management.

The department said it would not rest until the culprits had been identified and brought to book. “Schools should be the centres of learning and teaching, not the sites of bullying, gangsterism and criminality,” it said, “We are deeply hurt.”

It said bullying was a significant challenge to school safety.

The department was doing “everything in its power” to educate and provide a safe and caring environment in its schools, it said, but putting a stop to this violence began at home.

“Even if we install state-of-the-art security in our schools, we will not win the war against the scourge of school violence unless parents and communities come on board and take responsibility for instilling a sense of what is right and wrong in their children. Schools should not be the only place where children are taught morals and discipline, as this should begin at home,” the MEC said.

Earlier this month, a shocking video of a schoolgirl being violently assaulted by a male schoolmate at Siyathuthuka High School - in Inanda, north of Durban - emerged on Twitter. The incident occurred last November.

Lindokuhle Dube, 19, has since been arrested and charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

He appeared in the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court last week and was granted bail of R1 500.

The Mercury

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