A targeted shooting at Inxiweni Primary School in Thembisa on Tuesday afternoon has left two staff members dead, sending shockwaves through the community and prompting an urgent police investigation.
The victims have been identified as the school’s principal a 58-year-old and a 55-year-old administration clerk. The attack, described by authorities as “targeted and deeply traumatic,” occurred on the school grounds.
Relatives of the deceased are struggling to come to terms with the sudden and violent loss. The brother of the principal remembered her as an ambitious leader dedicated to her school and its legacy.
“She always had ambitions to make great things in life,” he said. “She was a person who was really eager to do things in a big way. She was bragging about the project that is coming up for the school. She was also looking at the performance of the school… I want to do things in a right way.”
The tragedy has also caused significant disruption to the academic calendar, as students were in the middle of writing assessments. A spokesperson for the Department of Education confirmed that the school lost a full day of examinations.
“Our challenge is that we lost the day because children are writing now their assessments,” the spokesperson said. “So we agreed that tomorrow and Friday they will continue to write… on Monday they will then have to replace the day that we lost.”
In the wake of the killings, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) has voiced deep concern over the safety of educators. A union spokesperson highlighted the security disparities between schools in different communities, calling for immediate government intervention.
“We’re urging the [Education] department to ensure that they strengthen security around all the schools, particularly township schools because they’ve got no muscles to be able to hire private security,” the SADTU spokesperson said. “We urge the department of education to support us in terms of funding these schools to ensure that the security there.”
As the police actively pursue several leads, the families of the victims are pleading for a swift and thorough investigation.
“We are hoping that the police will do their work. The culprits hopefully they will be brought to book,” said a family member. “How I wish the process can be a fast-track so that we know who are those who were behind these killers… What was the reason for them to do this to our sister, to our beloved sister?”
Authorities have not confirmed a possible motive for the shooting and are appealing to the public for any information that could aid the investigation. The incident has intensified fears among teachers about the rising incidents of violence on school premises, exposing what they describe as glaring security gaps at many public institutions.