Durban - More than 26 pupils had to be taken to hospital by teachers and community members after police officers fired rubber bullets and sprayed tear gas and pepper spray on pupils, teachers and school governing body (SGB) members.
Dozens of students, teachers and parents were taken to hospital after the incident at Dumisani Makhaye High School in Welbedacht East, outside Chatsworth on Wednesday.
What would have been a normal day at school turned into a nightmare when a man in his thirties – alleged to have stolen some items belonging to the school – was caught red-handed by the pupils inside the school premises early on Wednesday morning.
Speaking to the Daily News, the chairperson of the SGB, Bhekithemba Maphumulo, said that after the pupils discovered the man inside the premises, they allegedly beat him before locking him inside one of the storage rooms.
“Teachers arrived at the scene after the man had been attacked by the pupils. Police were called to the scene, but when they arrived they did not arrest the criminal but called an ambulance to take the man away. Angry pupils insisted that the man be arrested and taken away by the police van, and not an ambulance.
“The police refused and chaos erupted. The pupils ran to the gates, blocking the ambulance from leaving, and started stoning the vehicle. We ran to the gates to stop pupils from blocking the gates. When we were still trying to knock some sense into the pupils’ heads, we were confronted by the police, who fired rubber bullets,” Maphumulo said.
“We ran around trying to hide, but the police shot at everyone, including the teachers, the SGB, and pupils. More than 26 pupils had to be rushed to hospital by some of the teachers and community members, who came to understand what was happening as bullets flew around. I was also shot at and got injured.”
One of the teachers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the police insulted them and called them “prostitutes” as they were firing at them.
“We don’t condone violence… however, the police have failed to protect the school. We sometimes work without electricity due to theft of electrical cables and other things key to the functioning of the school. The police do nothing, but when we ask them to arrest criminals, they treat us like criminals.
“The only sensible thing they could have done was to put the man in the police van and take him to hospital,” she said.
She said items found in the possession of the man and alleged to have been stolen from the school were not taken by the police to use as evidence.
The MEC for Education in KZN, Kwazi Mshengu, hailed the pupils and the community for standing up to criminals.
“Even though it is regrettable that there was a disruption in teaching and learning as a result of the altercation with the intruders, we have always encouraged that communities must be the first defence of schools against criminals, hence we commend these pupils for standing up to protect the school.
“The department has on many occasions asked communities to protect schools against vandalism and thuggery, and has on various occasions also asked communities to desist from closing or disrupting teaching and learning if they have grievances or any issue with schools.”
Mshengu said the protection of the school was a priority for the community of Welbedacht, and all communities elsewhere in the province. The department also asked for restraint from the police where pupils were involved.
KZN police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said the police had to use force to disperse the crowd that was violent and managed to rescue the suspect.
Daily News