Swazi Observer

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DVOKOLWAKO PUPILS, POLICE CLASH

By Bongani Dlamini | 2019-07-16

A day before mock examinations, Dvokolwako High pupils and parents literally brought the school down.

The incident that attracted police officers happened yesterday morning at the school. Several classrooms and the administration block were vandalised by the two parties. Windows and glass doors were pelted with stones and some police officers were injured in the process.

According to some parents, the chaos erupted after pupils found a black substance and sand all over the assembly square.

They said this worried them because they associated this (kuchela) with black magic.

After this discovery, it is said that the pupils refused to assembly there but opted to gather at the sports ground. Here, it is further alleged that the pupils were divided as some refused to assembly at the sports ground.

The pupils then reportedly fought amongst themselves over this disagreement. Thereafter, those who assembled at the sports ground were allegedly informed by a teacher that they should turn back home and that parents were to attend a meeting today.

The situation went out of hand when police officers arrived at the school. Witnesses said after the pupils were sent home, the police arrived and chased after some pupils who were singing and dancing outside the school premises. After the police chased after them, it is said others were left behind and they started to hurl stones and pelted the windows.

The situation was tense so much that the police had to whisk the head teacher away in an effort to protect him from the wrath of the pupils who bayed for his blood.

In a bid to calm the situation, police officers tried to use minimum force but to no avail as the pupils began to burn tyres in the road that links Manzini, Buhleni and Tshaneni and beat some police officers. The Mliba police had to call for back-up and the arrival of the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU) made a difference as the crowd was dispersed.

Some police officers were also not spared from the stone war as some were injured. While the pupils were at it, some parents encouraged them by hurling unpalatable words at the police. When interviewed, the parents said the kuchela was the last straw as there were other issues that they had with the school’s head teacher.

Part of the litany of damning allegations levelled against the head teacher was that he was responsible for the death of four pupils and three teachers ever since he arrived at the school in 2013. One of these pupils is said to have been buried on Saturday after he complained of a headache.

To substantiate this, the parents and pupils said on several occasions, some pupils who, according to them were demon possessed, all called out the head teacher’s name while in trances.

The parents and pupils said the recent incident on Sunday where a scholar allegedly bolted out of a church and screamed that she no longer wanted to work for the head teacher whom she referred to by surname.

The Sunday incident, according to the two parties, followed one that happened last Friday at the school where over 30 pupils were possessed by demons. They said this led to teachers inviting several clergymen to pray for the pupils.

However, the parents and pupils claimed that the head teacher chucked the pastors out of the school premises, the more reason that they believed he was responsible for the deaths at the school. Further, it was alleged that the principal also used the school’s resources to feed his alleged cattle that are kept at a feedlot inside the school. Furthermore, the parents alleged that the head teacher was verbally abusing them by referring to them using vulgar language and harsh tone.

For all these, the parents said they were unhappy with him hence they vowed not to stop collaborating with their children until he is removed from the school.

Four parents who were near the school hurling all sorts of allegations to some police officers on guard were taken in by the police.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the incident.

She said no one was charged yet but the parents were taken in to assist the police with information.

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