At first, he froze, staring at Wayne’s body.
He behaved as if he was waiting to have another
conversation with his friend, but this was not to be as Wayne, who was granted
a State-assisted funeral, lay still in his coffin.
The pupil had to be pulled and escorted away, but he requested to see his friend one last time. Attempts to speak to the learner were fruitless as he said he was not in the right state of mind.
Several other pupils also shed tears as they paid their
last respects to Wayne, who seemed to have been a darling of many at the
school.
Monday February 13, 2023, will probably linger in the
memories of not just pupils at Founders High School, but Bulawayo and the
country at large.
Wayne, a Form Four pupil, was stabbed to death by a
17-year-old Hamilton High School pupil, cutting short a promising life of a
child who aspired to be a doctor.
Founders High School head, Ms Dorothea Moyo, described
Wayne as an all-rounder and intelligent boy who was part of the cream of the
school.
“He challenged other learners academically, he was always
involved in sport and just last week he represented his school at the
inter-schools track and field competition held at the National University of
Science and Technology (Nust),” she said.
“Wayne was a good dancer and would provide entertainment at
the school and at home. He would extend a helping hand to anyone.”
Ms Moyo said it was saddening to witness pupils depressed,
crying over the loss of their schoolmate.
“Wayne Ndlovu was our beloved learner who has been transferred
into posterity. He was in 4A1, our first and science class where he qualified
on merit due to his hard work and perseverance.
“He aspired to be a medical doctor and he would say if he
did not take the engineering route, he would become a medical doctor. But it is
so sad that his dream could not be fulfilled. He was very helpful, he would
motivate his classmates to do their school work,” said Ms Moyo.
She said the ministry’s efforts to address the issue of
violence were in vain.
Ms Moyo said pupils from various schools saw each other as
enemies and would rather fight as opposed to helping each other academically.
She said it was worrying that even before Wayne was buried,
some pupils were mobilising to seek revenge.
“I hear on this very day today; you had planned a very big
revenge. Stop it. Instead of mobilising resources, you are mobilising Gifford
to come and assist so that you have a big revenge. That revenge is going to
lead to another coffin. Revenge is not yours and if you instigate revenge, you
will be sorry,” she said.
Ms Moyo said while the school has a learner population of 1
300, one death was one too many.
During the funeral service, one speaker after the other
shared their personal experience of how kind Wayne was.
His grandmother recounted how when he visited her at her
rural home in Chivi, Masvingo, he became the darling of the community by fixing
faulty inverters for villagers.
It is unusual that a minor is granted a State-assisted
funeral, but the Government saw it fit to accord him that status.
As a performer and dancer, he probably never thought one of
the biggest crowds he could pull would be at his funeral service.
At the funeral service held at Founders High School, it
became clear that inter-schools’ gang related violence is a problem and
solutions were needed urgently.
Primary and Secondary Education Ministry officials
highlighted that they had been trying to deal with the problem, engaging the
police and schools on what seemed to be endemic in schools.
Wayne’s father, Mr Simiko Ndlovu, made an extraordinary
appeal to officials to hold his son’s burial service at the school in a bid to
bring closure to other learners and to send a message to pupils about the dire
consequences of violence.
The Government acceded to his request and a funeral service
was held at the school’s courtyard.
Mr Ndlovu was the first to address the mourners and paid
tribute to his son, describing him as a brave boy.
He was nicknamed “Major” by his colleagues at school.
“We are here to celebrate the life of my son, Wayne Ndlovu,
also known as Major,” Mr Ndlovu. “I was surprised. I didn’t know that he was
also known here as Major. I would have nicknamed him the doctor. I don’t know,
maybe he was also considering joining the army. It’s quite befitting
esiNdebeleni bathikibo kwagwala akula siliso (cowards live to fight another
day), we are here because Wayne was not a coward, that is why we are mourning.”
Mr Ndlovu said his death had been difficult to take for his
family, but he hoped it would mark an end to the interschool’s violence culture
in Bulawayo.
He said he witnessed his son’s life slipping away after the
Hamilton High School pupil stabbed him on the neck, damaging his right jugular
vein.
“If Jesus died and unified people, I would like to believe
Wayne’s death is also going to unify us,” Mr Ndlovu. Herald
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