Axed teacher stabs principal in front of pupils
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi believes a Soweto principal would not have been stabbed if her attacker’s threats had been taken seriously.
|||Johannesburg - Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi believes the principal of Paul Mosaka Primary School in Pimville, Soweto, wouldn't have been stabbed if her attacker’s threats had been taken seriously.
Lesufi, who was due to visit the school on Tuesday, said on Monday that he would investigate why nothing was done about the perpetrator - a former teacher. It was well known that the man had been harassing the principal since the department fired him last year.
“Had this matter been attended to, this wouldn't have happened,” Lesufi said.
The former teacher stabbed the principal on Monday morning in front of pupils, teachers and residents. When some of them tried to stop him, he reportedly turned on them.
Only when police officers arrived did he drop his weapon.
Lesufi said he was disgusted about the attempted murder and was aware that teachers, principals and pupils were sitting ducks for criminals. “I feel hopeless. I've reached boiling point. Something must give now. I'm devastated, especially because the principal is a female and it is clear that people are taking advantage of the system.
“Instead of confronting the department, he saw the principal as a soft target,” the MEC said.
The man was fired last year for falsifying his qualifications.
Police spokesperson Colonel Kay Makhubele said that when the principal arrived at the school, she found the former teacher waiting for her. As soon as she got out of her car, he started stabbing her.
“Schoolchildren saw it happen and were screaming. Residents who saw it too screamed and tried to help, but the man fought with them.
“The police were called. He was arrested and charged with attempted murder.”
MEC for Community Safety Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane said the perpetrator stabbed the principal 10 times, and she was in critical condition.
“I'm taken aback by this barbaric act. Such a callous and brutal act cannot go unpunished,” she said.
botho.molosankwe@inl.co.za
The Star