Learning was disrupted again on Monday, 6 June at Kwangcoyi Primary School in KwaNongoma in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) when the house of the school's principal was torched on Sunday night.

PRINCIPAL'S JOB 

Barbie Mbatha, who was recently appointed as the new school's principal, is living in fear after her house and two cars were torched on Sunday, days after her appointment. A close friend of Barbie who wishes not to be named due to the fear of also being harassed tells ZiMoja that Mbatha's problems began two weeks ago when unhappy people from her school torched two classrooms "just because she was appointed as the school's principal," the friend says. "We suspect that the people who burnt down her house are the same people who recently burnt down two classrooms."

BEING UNEMPLOYED

Before being appointed as the principal, Barbie had previously resigned from being an educator. When she got the job, she was unemployed. Many expressed their unhappiness with her employment. "They want her out of that job," the friend adds. "They thought she would never work again." The source further says that the people who torched Mbatha's house used a petrol bomb. "Barbie is lucky enough to still be alive. The people who torched her house wanted to burn her alive with her kids," the source adds. "The cops must intervene and save Barbie because if there is nothing that will be done, we will lose her. The people who are fighting her want that position. People are heartless and there is no way Barbie can recover from all of this. She lost her two cars plus a fully furnished house," the source adds.

FROM THE MEC

MEC for Education in KZN Mbali Fraser condemned the incident. "The MEC for Education strongly condemns the regressive and barbaric act of the torching of the KwaNgcoyi Primary School Principal's home yesterday by unknown criminals. "Two weeks ago, two classrooms were burnt down by unknown people, disrupting teaching and learning at the same school. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this barbaric act of torching school infrastructure. Our principles as managers of educational institutions should be protected and respected," she says. "They should not be subjected to such brutality. The department's infrastructure budget is already under severe strain caused by the recent flooding, storms, and ageing infrastructure. We hope that the law enforcement agencies are going to get to the bottom of this," the statement reads.