Two men, aged 33 and 22 respectively, were arrested for stealing a part of Boitshoko High School’s fence on Wednesday morning (29 April).
Sgt Kelebogile Trom, the police spokesperson, says a community member who resides near Boitshoko in Ikageng saw two men carrying a section of the fence and alerted other community members. They managed to apprehend the suspects and immediately contacted the police,” she said.
The suspects alleged that they had seen other community members cutting the fence, so they decided to do the same and erect it in Baipei, where they live.
“We would like to thank the community of Thabeng Section for swiftly apprehending the suspects without taking the law into their hands,” said Trom.
Elias Malindi, the spokesperson for the NW Department of Education, says the MEC, Mmaphefo Matsemela, condemns the acts of vandalism and robbery on school premises.
“We cannot allow criminals to do as they wish with the property of our learners. These schools belong to the community and they should work together with the police to apprehend the suspects. I want to thank those active school governing bodies and the broader community that work hard to see these criminals arrested,” said Matsemela in a statement.
The police encourage all residents to be custodians of the schools and report criminal activity to the police.
The Ikageng SAPS number is 018 295 9807/08 and the Potchefstroom SAPS number is 018 299 7457.
