Yet another school torched in the Vuwani policing area

The torching of an administrative block of Shondoni Secondary School at Lwamondo has angered parents and the whole community as they feel it will affect teaching and learning at the school negatively. The block, with its contents valued at an estimated R1,2 million, was totally gutted in the early hours of Friday last week.

Shondoni Secondary joins the more than 30 schools burnt or damaged during the violent Vuwani demarcation protests last year. With the dire shortage of funds, this is an extra burden on the Limpopo education department, which has budgeted for only 10 schools to be rebuilt this financial year.

Rumours doing the rounds in the village are that a pupil who was refused admission at the school is behind the torching of the block. It is alleged that the learner, who is notorious for a string of crimes, was exacting revenge after he was denied admission because of his bad behaviour.

The chairperson of the SGB, Mr Godfrey Mukandangalwo Nevhuranga, said that he was at home when he received a call informing him the school was on fire. He rushed to the school and found the administration block on fire. He said they called the firefighters and the police, who responded quickly.

"This really a sad day for us all as a community. All our records were destroyed and the worst part of it is that the whole block is beyond repair, which will need a lot of money. Whoever did this is heartless and has no feelings," he said.

Nevhuranga added that several break-ins at the school had become a great worry to the community. "As the leadership of the school, we are appealing to all to help safeguard the school, as it our own property. We are only hoping that the police will do their work and arrest whoever is responsible," he said.

The councillor for Ward 34 in Thulamela, Cllr Ndwakhulu Mbulaheni, who was also at the scene, condemned the incident, saying it was against development. He said they were going to discuss the issue with Chief Calvin Nelwamondo and other structures in the community and chart the way forward.

The spokesperson for Limpopo Education, Mr Sam Makondo, said the incident was saddening and a big setback. "We are still busy rebuilding damaged schools in Vuwani.
We hope the police will find the culprits, so that they can be punished," he said.
 Limpopo police spokesman Brig Motlafela Mojapelo appealed to the community to help them with information that can lead to the arrest of the suspects. He could not confirm whether the incident is related to incidents in Vuwani or that the suspect is known.

 "The motive is unknown at this stage and our investigation will ultimately reveal what was the intention of the arsonists. We therefore can't speculate.”

Anyone with information that can assist with the tracing of the culprits can phone Brig James Esbach on 082 576 0753 or the police emergency number 08600 10111 or Crime line SMS number 32211 or the nearest police station, said Mojapelo.

Date:10 February 2018

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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