PANDEMONIUM broke at Umcabango High mid-day this week when four security guards barged into a classroom and assaulted the pupils.
The guards were accompanying the School Governing Body (SGB) chairperson Mr Jiyane and ward 12 Cllr John Cele, who went to the school with an aim of praying for them.
Speaking to Zululand Observer, a visibly-shaken matric pupil, whose swollen and bruised face bore evidence of his ordeal, the scholar said he was standing by the board when the unannounced visitors entered, and demanded he give them his cell phone.
‘I took my cell phone out of the pocket, but before I could give it to him, the security guard simply punched me, and others began kicking me all over the body, even after falling down, they continued pommeling me.
According to witnesses, other pupils were given harsh lashes on their backsides.
Asked about the incident, Umcabango School Principal Mrs Mpofana declined to comment, and simply dropped the phone.
Education Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the department condemns the assault of the pupils, and according to the country’s laws, is a criminal offence.
‘It is worse when the person supposed to protect the pupils condones it. As the department we are going to take necessary steps to establish if the SGB chair is fit to hold this position at the school, after which the law will then take its course,’ Mahlambi asserted.
