Principal scared after attack in office

A Duncan Village school principal said she was afraid to go back to work when second terms starts next week, after two men stormed into her office last week and attacked her.

Maggie Xalabile, who has been the principal at Makinana Primary School since 2009, says the incident that has left her traumatised and in fear for her life happened on Monday last week at around 9am.

Speaking to the Daily Dispatch, the 56-year-old principal said she feared that her attackers, one who is known to her, might come back to “finish her off”.

Xalabile said she had been filling in some schedules for submission at the department of education. With her were the deputy principal and the school’s clerk, when the two men walked into her office.

“The deputy principal and the clerk were busy with the server box. I was sitting on my chair when the two men came straight at me, pointing and shouting, swearing and demanding money. I tried to get up but they pinned me down by my chest and pushed me down. I reached for an object that was on my table and swung at them and they ran out the office,” said Xalabile.

She said by the time her deputy and the clerk realised what was happening, her two attackers had already fled.

Xalabile said she recognised one of the men as the man who was doing some labour work for her son sometime in December.

The principal said she reported the incident to the department’s circuit manager and opened a case with the police.

Police spokesman Captain Nkosikho Mzuku confirmed a case of assault had been opened and was being investigated.

Xalabile said she felt her safety at the school had been compromised and the security fence could no longer protect her. The steel gate, which is usually locked during a normal school day had been left unlocked to allow parents to visit the institution as they always would in the last week of the term.

“If anyone can just walk into the school, into my office and attack me, to me that means that I can no longer feel safe here, the staff and pupils are not safe either,” said Xalabile.

Spokesman for the department of education Malibongwe Mtima said they would follow up on the matter to check whether the school could benefit from the department’s school safety officer programme.

“We have been training school safety officers to safeguard schools and deployed them to schools affected by crime. We will check whether this school can benefit from that programme,” he said.

“We would also like to encourage school staff and school governing body members to ensure school gates are locked at all times to prevent criminals from having access to the school.”