“Disturbingly, another man is seen grabbing two learners, who were caught in the crossfire of this violent ordeal, while another is wielding an assault rifle. This violent and appalling behaviour has no place in our schools or our society,” provincial education spokesperson Steve Mabona said.
He said according to a preliminary report, a conflict between two families over the custody of the boys enrolled at the school had been escalating.
“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 Monday morning, the father of the children had a meeting with the principal. Later in the day, the maternal grandmother, the alleged guardian of the children, also met the principal to report and inform him about a conflict that had occurred during a meeting held over the past weekend at the house of Motsoeneng, the paternal grandfather.
“Following this, the deputy principal and some staff members refused to release the children without the grandmother’s permission. This led to the pastor arriving at the school with bodyguards and weapons,” Mabona said.
The incident unfolded on Monday afternoon after school when the father of the children came to fetch them, accompanied by two men, one of them Motsoeneng — armed with two pangas while the other man carried an assault rifle.
Teachers, acting on alleged instructions from the grandmother, tried to prevent the father from leaving the school premises with the children.
Mboro allegedly threatened the teachers with a panga and the father left with the children.
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