Shock as teacher commits suicide

“The night before his death, Takalani and I had agreed that he would take charge of the school on Monday while I was away attending a meeting at Mbilwi. He did not show any signs of stress.”

These were the words of the principal of Lwamondo Secondary School, Mr Tshimangadzo Tshubwana, after learning of the death of one of his trusted and most loved teacher, Mr Robert Takalani.

Takalani (49) of Tshisahulu was the first deputy principal at the school and also a teacher in accounting. It is suspected that he shot himself in the head in the early hours of Monday morning.

Details about the incident are still sketchy as no one of the family and friends knows what made him take his life. The incident that has left the community of Tshisahulu and Lwamondo Secondary School plunged into deep sadness. The morale at the school, which attained a 100% pass rate in the 2013 Grade 12 examinations, was at an all-time low.

Traumatised pupils cried uncontrollably when the sad news was broken to them. The school had to seek the services of a professional, Dr Maxwell Masakona, who counselled them before they were released to go home.

Tshubwana was one of the first people to know about the incident. He received a call in the early hours of Monday morning, informing him of the death of his colleague. “I rushed to his house to find that he was dead. He had a bullet wound in his head,” said Tshubwana.

“This is a great loss; the man was a hard worker. He was my pillar of strength, who was always ready to go the extra mile when it came to doing things for this school. We worked very hard together and he was part of the team that ensured our successes in the 2013 Grade 12 examinations.”

When Limpopo Mirror visited the school on Monday morning, the whole school had received counselling.

Date:28 March 2014

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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