Armed battle prevented at local high school
2009-09-17
Lise Beyers
A POTENTIALLY explosive situation was defused on Tuesday by Mbekweni police officers, when armed learners descended in two factions upon Ihlumelo Junior High School. The police were called in by staff members, when 20 rowdy learners arrived on the school premises, some armed with pangas, knives and hammers. The group was quickly disarmed and escorted to the Mbekweni police station. According to a police spokesperson, the children, aged between 16 and 18, are from two opposing groups residing in OR and Newrest. They have allegedly been involved in gang activity, and see each other as a threat. The youths have been temporarily suspended from the school, pending an internal investigation, as well as a meeting between the school board and parents. Only after this will a decision be made on whether the youngsters will be able to return to school again, or whether they will be expelled. The youths were concerned about the fact that they are in the middle of exams. It has thus been decided that they will be able to continue writing the papers, but at another venue. Mbekweni Sation Commander, Supt Cornelius Geldenhuys, said that the children will not be jailed or appear in court. “Charges of possession of dangerous weapons will be laid against them, but they will not appear in court, and will be fined at the station. “We do not want to make criminals out of them, but rather want to point them in the right direction.”
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