GoodHope Senior school students go on the rampage
Mpho Mokwape | Thursday November 6, 2014 12:22
It is alleged that trouble started after the school security guards caught a male student in the girls’ hostels. The student was handcuffed but this did not go well with the schoolgirls who raised alarm that led to the learners going on the rampage.
A source at the school told Mmegi that a fracas ensued after other students questioned why the culprit in question was apprehended while others who have been caught sneaking into girls’ hostels were never brought to book.
The students are alleged to have started screaming and throwing missiles at the helpless security guards. The instigators are alleged to have encouraged more students to riot, sources say.
Efforts by teachers to appeal for calm were met with defiance. The riot is said to have continued for hours until the boarding matron called the school headmaster to address the situation.
When the students saw the headmaster they dispersed. However, they went on the rampage shortly thereafter, damaging school property, especially the dining hall and lights in the hostels.
The head-teacher eventually called the police who waged pitched battles with the students. The students overwhelmed the first squad of police officers, who were forced to call for back-up from Lobatse and Kanye. The police prevailed after about five hours with several students suffering injuries.
The education authorities were yet to ascertain the number of injured students by late yesterday. “Four students came up to the principal’s office and said they were injured and needed to be taken to the hospital, which the school did. It is possible there could be other injured students who have not yet come forward,”, said the Chief Education Officer for GoodHope Sub Region, Basil Ncaagae.
He said trouble at the hostels around 9pm when students got agitated and stared throwing stones.
“There was some disturbances in the school and we had to use the internal security as required but security was not enough therefore we had to engage the police to restore order,” he said.
He added that police have launched investigations and arrested dozens of students for questioning. When Mmegi visited the school, anxious parents milled about wondering what happened. Many said they had come to fetch their children – even those sitting for their final examinations.
However Ncaagae said they would not release students to go home as they were not in any danger and that the situation was under control. He said any parents who took their child would be doing so against the school’s wishes. The situation remained tense late yesterday as dozens of anti-riot police remained in the school premises while students were being interrogated at the police station.