By Everson Luhanga
- Angry learners marched to the suspect’s house and threw stones, not knowing he had already been arrested.
- Police and community leaders were called in to calm tensions after reports of a fight sparked a helicopter response.
Students at Thaba-Jabula Secondary School in Soweto went on the rampage on Wednesday after a fellow learner was stabbed to death.
The deadly stabbing happened on Tuesday during a fight between students — and according to a witness, it was all over a hat.
A group of learners stormed to the suspect’s house in Power Park. They hurled stones at the building, unaware that police had already arrested the suspect.
The house was left covered in rocks as students demanded revenge.
Police rushed to the scene after reports that learners were fighting each other. A helicopter was sent to circle the area, but it turned out that the reports were incorrect.
Community leaders slammed the false alarm and urged residents to stop spreading wrong information. They said this leads to wasted resources and unnecessary panic.
Police from both the South African Police Service and Johannesburg Metro Police Department, as well as Gauteng Crime Wardens, were deployed to manage the chaos.
“Learners were fighting over a hat and that’s when the boy was stabbed to death,” said a witness who is also a student.
By early afternoon, police managed to calm things down.
The Gauteng Department of Education had not yet responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.
Pictured above: Thaba-Jabula Secondary School learners on the streets of Soweto.
Image source: Supplied
