SOUTH AFRICA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM SCHOOLDaily News - Boy used for robberyOctober 24, 2005

By Ayanda Mhlongo

After the final bell rang at Zuzokuhle Primary School, Thabo Mzimela could not wait to go home and play. Instead, the little boy was abducted by a gang while on his way home.

The gang held the boy for a couple of hours and then dragged him back to his school and threatened him with his life if he refused to break into the school.

The school, in Inanda Glebe in Inanda township, north of Durban, has been broken into four times in the last two months.

On Friday morning, the teachers discovered that the school had been vandalised and most of the classes had been broken into. The criminals allegedly used small children to get into the classrooms through the windows.

Computers, keyboards, kettles and watches are among the school's valuables that were stolen. Teachers' files and pupils' learning material were also taken. The gangs then used water buckets and flooded the classrooms.

Terrified teachers have vowed not to teach because they fear for their safety and that of their pupils. One of the pupils, who could not be named, said all the pupils were very afraid.

"They have destroyed our school and stolen our books and teachers' files. This is not fair because our teachers have tried hard to ensure that we have everything we need," he said.


He said they had seen men they suspected were the culprits around the school in the afternoons.

The administration officer said that recently a group of men tried to gain access into the school, but they managed to close the gate in time and called for help.

"We had received a tip that a gang was going to attack at the school and so we kept the gate closed and stayed on the lookout for suspicious characters.

"When I saw a group of men making their way through the main gate, I immediately closed the gates. Suddenly they just turned back and walked out," he said. The school does not have any security and the teachers say they cannot afford to pay for private security.

Mzimela is just one of the lower grade boys who have been forced into this criminal activity by these gangs. He will now face being questioned by the police and will have to reveal his abductors and this could pose a threat to him, his teachers and family.

Inanda Police spokesman Capt Jabulani Zuma said that criminals began targeting the school during the December school holidays.

A case of malicious damage to property and breaking and entering has been opened by the police.