NATIONAL NEWS - Teachers and pupils of a Pietermaritzburg primary school are reeling with shock after an armed gang made off with laptops, cell phones and the principal’s car, after storming the school premises.
The school, Funulwazi Primary School, is in Imbali.
According to a teacher, who did not want to be named for security reasons, the gang of about six surprised two teachers in the staffroom on Thursday.
They produced guns and ordered us to hand over our cell phones, wallets and laptops. As they were about to leave, they demanded that the principal give them his car keys.
They drove off in the principal’s car.
We are all still traumatised and scared to go back to work. To make matters worse, [pupils] witnessed the robbery. They are traumatised and will have to get some form of counselling.
The incident happened amid a security alert, warning local communities that criminals were planning to hijack vehicles to set alight, as part of a ritual to honour a gang member who was recently murdered in the area.
It is common for criminals to hijack vehicles for such a ritual, which is usually carried out on the day of a gang member’s funeral.
However, The Witness could not confirm whether the robbery that took place at the school was linked to the burial of a local gang member over the weekend.
Robbery confirmed
While KwaZulu-Natal police said they had yet to gather the details around the robbery, Msunduzi ward 19 councillor, Vusi Ngwenya, confirmed the robbery.
As we speak, I’m preparing to go to a meeting that has been called at the school following this horrible incident.
I can also confirm that both the teachers and pupils are extremely traumatised. They are battling to come to terms with the fact that thugs can invade a school in broad daylight and do what they did.
This incident is confirmation that crime in the area has spiraled out of control — local residents now live in fear.
The incident at the school comes amid widespread concern about inadequate school security in the province.
KwaZulu-Natal Education Department spokesperson
However, KwaZulu-Natal Education Department spokesperson, Muzi Mahlambi, denied that inadequate security was to blame for the robbery that took place at the school.
As long as people have no respect for the law, no respect for their own children attending these schools and no respect for the teachers giving their own children an education, there can never be adequate security.
Indeed, I can confirm that there are security personnel and a security fence at the Funulwazi Primary School.
But the fact of the matter is that the security can never be enough to deter those determined to break the law.
If criminals are able to break into a police station and steal guns, surely, they would find it easier to invade a school.
