Parents of pupils at Masiza High School and community leaders held a meeting on 23 January to express their displeasure to the school management after a video had gone viral on social media (Facebook) in which a group of the school's learners violently attacked a fellow learner with a sjambok.
The concerned parents blamed the school management for not doing enough to resolve the issue of gangsterism at the school. In a previous incident, one learner was stabbed in the hand, after which his parents had opened a case of assault at the Waterval Police Station.
The most recent fight, which apparently started inside the school premises on 17 January, was between 18 boys from three gangs, called Trouble 13, Bad Coming Company and the Rough 8 team. The following day, another fight erupted approximately 500 metres away from the school premises.
During the meeting, some of the parents suggested that the learners who were fighting be expelled from school, while others did not want to take the matter that far.
The chairperson of the school governing body (SGB), Mr Patrick Mashimbye, said they had not known that the school was facing issues with gangsterism. "The school principal did not inform us about this problem at the school. It came as a surprise to us when parents reported to us. The gang members were invited to the meeting, and they said that the fight started during the December holidays; they were apparently fighting over a girl, which continued when school started," Mashimbye said.
"The parents never gave us a chance to investigate this issue, now they claim that we are not doing our job. The school doesn't have security personnel, we only have general workers to guard the school. Those learners entered the school premises with sjamboks and knives hidden inside their school bags," he said.
One of the deputy chairpersons of the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters), Lucky Nkuna, said the learners involved in the fighting had apologised. "The boys were granted a chance to continue learning, because they showed remorse and promised to never cause fights again. And if they do, they will be expelling themselves," he said.
According to the police spokesperson, W/O Foster Rambau, some of the learners were charged with unlawful wounding/GBH (grievous bodily harm). "However, the case is still under investigation as there are more learners who were involved," he said.