Pupils and staff at a Khayelitsha primary school are shaken after armed men robbed teachers at gunpoint.
Nine robbers entered Vuselela Primary School in Site C just before 8am on Monday April 22 as pupils were preparing for a morning prayer at assembly, says principal Siphiwo Maxonga.
He was gathering the pupils, he says, when he heard a commotion in the staff room, and when he went to investigate, he was confronted by a gunman who chased. Meanwhile, his colleagues were held at gunpoint and robbed of their cellphones and laptops.
“They were calling my surname as if they knew me and asking where Maxongo is,” he said.
Chaos erupted as pupils learnt what was happening and ran screaming for safety, some suffering minor injuries from falls in the confusion, he said.
The robbers had left the school in a teacher’s car, but Khayelitsha police had recovered it along with some of the stolen property in Site C later that day, he said.
Then, on Friday morning last week, he said, pupils had been sent home early after the robbers had reportedly driven up to the school in a car and signalled to pupils that they would return.
In the aftermath, 16 traumatised teachers had taken sick days last week and another five had been booked off this week, he said, adding that the ordeal had cost the pupils a week of schooling.
“The morale is down, but as the face of the department, I’m expected to motivate my teachers to continue giving good and quality teaching during this difficult time, and I have no idea how I should do that.
“I also do not feel safe, and I’m concerned too about safety. I have been at the school for 29 years, and I have never felt unsafe until last week.
“I have asked Khayelitsha police station to ensure that there is at least a police van in the morning because it seems as if it is that time that they target the school.
“But we will only have that for two weeks, and after that, we have to find a way to provide safety. We do not charge school fees, and we have no idea how we are going to get the money to get security.”
Khayelitsha police station spokesperson Constable Asanda Dawethi said police were investigating an armed robbery.
All the stolen property had been found in the teacher’s car in Solomon Tshuku Avenue not far from the school, she said.
The robbers are still at large.
Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said it was alleged that a suspicious vehicle had been seen outside the school on Friday morning and the occupants had allegedly signalled to some of the pupils that they would return.
“This caused some concern within the community, following Monday’s incident, and parents came to the school to fetch their children. The teachers and pupils are understandably traumatised after what happened on the Monday.
“We have provided counselling support and will be engaging with the school further. SAPS has been patrolling around the school during the mornings and afternoon when learners have been dismissed. Additional security has been arranged for the school.”
