Fourth Soshanguve school burnt down during lockdown

Another school was burnt down in Soshanguve in Tshwane on Wednesday morning, making it the fourth school in the area to be destroyed during the nationwide lockdown.

Soshanguve High School has been burned to ruins after the fire destroyed the school’s administration block, as well as valuable equipment and furniture, according to Gauteng department of education spokesperson Steve Mabona.

In the early hours of the morning, a resident alerted the principal of the school that the building was on fire, Mabona said.

The principal watched on as firefighters battled the blaze and hours later, they managed to extinguish the flames.

“However, the administration block was burnt down, literally the roof caved in and everything burnt to ashes. All valuable equipment and furniture were lost in the fire,” Mabona said.

“The value of the loss is still to be determined.”

The fire department and police have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.

This is the fourth school that has been torched in Soshanguve during the 21-day lockdown.

In total, 22 schools in Gauteng have been vandalised since the beginning of the lockdown.

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi seemed distressed as he appealed to law enforcement to protect schools.

“We really don’t know what is happening in Soshanguve. This is to register our plea with the security cluster to protect our schools,” Lesufi said.

“We are dismayed to report about yet another school destroyed by fire, worse within a few days, in the same area.

“This is worrisome. It looks like the same modus operandi is used. We are tempted to believe that there is a syndicate operating in the area, the sooner these cowards are arrested the better.”

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