MSITELI High School in Mpopoma, Bulawayo is under siege from rival pupils’ gangs fighting each other using dangerous weapons.
The violence reached a crescendo last Friday with the
destruction of a section of the school’s precast wall and classrooms’ window
panes. A gang member was said to have
been seriously injured in the head following the attack while a girl was
hospitalised some few weeks ago after a gang member sprayed pepper spray at the
girls’ toilet.
Residents say the whole of last week the school resembled a
war zone as the two gangs fought each other with stones, catapults, knives and
knobkerries.
The two rival gangs are said to be made up of boys from
Mpopoma, Iminyela and Mabuthweni suburbs who are leaners at Msiteli and Sizane
High School in Pelandaba suburb.
On Friday a Chronicle news crew witnessed the two combatant
gangs in running battles at around 4:30 pm at the school resulting in learning
being briefly stopped after they threw stones at some classrooms.
Screaming pupils ran for cover in terror as stones rained
in the direction of their classrooms as the fighting intensified.
The two gangs arrived at the school from two different
directions before the fighting ensued with residents who live near the school
scurrying for cover in their houses as the stones started flying.
The gangs seemed well coordinated as they took different
positions around the school during the attack. They pelted each other with stones
while others were using catapults before one group was overpowered and ran
away.
The “winning gang” retreated and disappeared from the scene
as terrified residents emerged from their houses in shock.
The school head, a Mr Vundla and some teachers came out of
the school to inspect the section of the precast wall and windows that were destroyed.
The head was later forced to patrol the school surroundings
using a white school commuter omnibus while some teachers were stationed at the
gate as frightened pupils left the school premises at 5pm.
Small fights broke out when pupils walked home which saw
pupils running in different directions with school authorities and residents
watching in disbelief.
The school head said the problem was caused by school
leavers, adding that school closures due to Covid-19 had resulted in serious
pupils’ wayward behaviour.
A damaged perimeter wall at Msiteli High and one of the
rogue pupils running from the school
He said they once reported the fights to police before
saying he will not say much as the school was still investigating the issue.
A vendor who sells her wares outside the school said the
violence happened throughout the week and was shocked police were never brought
in.
“I am a vendor near the school and I saw a group of about
20 boys coming from the northern side of the school through a passage between
the houses. One member of the gang hit a rival gang member on the head nge
nduku. He managed to escape but I fear he will suffer internal bleeding,” she
said.
She said the school has on some occasions delivered its
prefects at home using the school kombi following attacks.
A resident who lives near the school and witnessed the
fight as he drove back from work, Mr Lizwe Jiyane said the situation was tense
during the attack and feared for the worst.
“I was coming from work and saw kids running in different
directions. I stopped my car, waiting for the situation to settle as there were
a lot of stones flying all over the place. One group was overpowered for a
brief moment and I used that opportunity to drive to my house and park my car.
But before long the overpowered group regrouped and they are the ones who
pushed down the durawall and pelted stones that broke the window panes.
“We have never seen something like this and we don’t want
to see it again. One would have expected that school authorities urgently
phoned the police because when property is destroyed like this it is a serious
cause for concern.
If this continues lives would be lost,” said Mr Jiyane.
Another resident, Mr Pearce Moyo said the school has a
history of violent gangs besieging the learning institution around dismissal
time.
He said the Friday violence was one of the worst adding
that something needs to be done fast.
“I was once a temporary teacher at the school and used to
see the fights during knock off time. The boys will stand by the school corner
or at the gate before unleashing the violence. They are very organised and come
armed with stones and catapults. They were throwing stones all over and I ran
into my house for safety,” he said.
Mr Moyo said the gang that destroyed the school pre-cast
wall were shouting that some of their rivals had sheltered inside the school
which led to the destruction.
“The boys who brought down the wall were about four. When they did this the other gang members
were pelting stones in the classroom resulting in the destruction of
windowpanes. The pupils who were inside
the classes which were pelted must be traumatised. As parents we are concerned
that the safety of our children is no longer guaranteed at the school,” he
said.
Mr Moyo said it was only a matter of time before the gangs
injure residents as they appear “possessed“ during the fights.
“I suspect that part of the gang members are not from
Mpopoma suburb because residents could have identified them. Some though are
learners at Msiteli who dismissed at 12 and went to mobilise themselves and
came in their personal clothes to avoid being identified. When the school head
came out he said they will identify each other so I think he might have
identified some of them.
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