By Alicia Mmashakana
THE Gauteng Education, Sport, Arts, Culture & Recreation MEC, Matome Chiloane has strongly condemned an incident on Monday, at Matshidiso Primary School in Katlehong, in which three armed men threatened teachers before grabbing two young boys and leaving with them.
In a series of shocking videos that have gone viral on social media, a well-known pastor, Paseka Mboro, is seen wielding a panga and threatening to attack teachers on the school premises. A man with an assault rifle is standing next to him while another is seen grabbing two learners.
The Department said in a statement that there had been a growing dispute between two families regarding the custody of two pupils enrolled in Grade RR and Grade 2. It is said that the mother of the children passed away in April this year, leading to a dispute between the paternal and maternal sides of the family.
On the day of the incident, the father of the children had a meeting with the principal in the morning. Later in the day, the maternal grandmother, who is the alleged guardian of the children, also met with the principal as well to report and inform him about a conflict that occurred during a meeting held over the past weekend at the house of the paternal grandfather, Mboro.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon after school, when the children’s father arrived to pick them up, accompanied by two men, one of whom was Mboro, armed with pangas and with an assault rifle.
The deputy principal and some staff members refused to release the children without the grandmother’s permission. Teachers, acting on the grandmother’s alleged instructions, attempted to prevent the father from leaving the school grounds with the children.
This resulted in the pastor arriving at the school with bodyguards and weapons. He threatened the teachers with a panga, allowing the father to leave with the children.
The community became involved after realising there was commotion at the school. The principal, School Governing Body (SGB), reported the matter to the police.
The Child Protection Unit is set to mediate the situation.
“The safety and well-being of our students and educators is of the utmost importance. Such acts of violence and intimidation not only undermine the foundation of our educational system, but they also have the potential to traumatise the entire school community, especially since the incident occurred in front of young children and their teachers.
“The Department is committed to ensuring that justice is served in this case. We will not tolerate any acts of violence or intimidation, and we will take all necessary measures to protect our students and teachers,” said Chiloane.
Psycho-social support will be provided to the affected teachers and students to help them cope with the trauma caused by this incident.
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