A Form Four pupil at Bulawayo’s Founders High School, Wayne Ndlovu, was fatally knifed on Monday afternoon in a suspected turf war involving boys from Hamilton High School and Founders in the city.
Wayne who was good in science subjects aspired to be a doctor upon completion of his A’Level studies.
He was stabbed on the neck. The boy was pronounced dead upon arrival at the United Bulawayo Hospitals. Two boys from Hamilton High School have since been arrested in connection with Wayne’s death and they are assisting police with investigations.
The death is a culmination of a series of turf wars pitting pupils from schools in the city.
Wayne’s mother, Ms Nomatter Ndlovu said her family is devastated following the brutal killing of her first-born child.
She described Wayne as a brilliant and academically gifted boy whose future was promising.
“He was an intelligent child, very bright, and could easily adjust to any kind of situation. He did not discriminate against anyone and loved sport and school. He actually wanted to be a doctor in life and that is why he was studying sciences,” she said.
“Now that things have gone this way we don’t know what we are going to do about his shattered dreams. We were actually imagining him as a practicing doctor assisting the community.”
Ms Ndlovu said her son had a heart of gold and a spirit of humanity.
She said soon after the family received the sad news shortly after 4pm on Monday, his father immediately rushed to the scene.
Ms Ndlovu said she was told that her son was attacked while trying to rescue his friend who was being attacked by bullies.
“I don’t know what was happening, but what we are being told is that Wayne was coming from a different direction when he found his friend being bullied by the Hamilton boys. He tried to rescue the friend and in the process of doing so, that is when he was stabbed,” she said.
Ms Ndlovu said soon after the incident, other pupils rushed to inform the school headmistress and she rushed to the scene.
The school head informed the parents and the boy’s father rushed to the scene.
“When his father arrived at the spot, he tried to render first aid before the arrival of an ambulance. While in the ambulance, the father said, Wayne tried to murmur some inaudible words,” said Ms Ndlovu.
Ms Ndlovu said when she arrived at the hospital, her husband was bloodied
“When I arrived at UBH I found my husband outside just walking around, I didn’t ask him about the situation. I just kept quiet and when he spoke he said the boy could die and I was so touched,” she said.
Ms Ndlovu said they watched helplessly as nurses frantically tried to save their son.
“There were so many nurses in the room running around as they tried to save my son. He was put on oxygen, but deep down in my heart, I could feel that something was not right,” she said.
“Minutes later, nurses opened the curtain for us to see our son lying dead on a blood-stained bed and they were drops of blood on the floor.”
Ms Ndlovu urged authorities to address the issue of turf wars in schools.
Bulawayo deputy police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele said two pupils have since been arrested in connection with Wayne’s murder.
“I can confirm that as police, we are attending to a case where a 16-year-old pupil from Founders High School was stabbed to death during a fight involving learners from Founders High School and Hamilton High School,” she said.
Asst Insp Msebele said the deceased approached boys from Hamilton and asked them why they had attacked his friend resulting in a fight.
“An altercation ensued resulting in the boys from Hamilton stabbing the deceased in the neck before they fled from the scene. A report was made to us leading to the arrest of two Hamilton High School pupils,” said the police spokesperson.
Asst Insp Msebele said police are concerned about cases of violence recorded in several schools in the city.
She said singled out Milton, Gifford, and Msiteli High Schools as schools where bullying is rampant.
“We encourage school authorities to report all bullying cases to the police. We have done several campaigns to discourage bullying in schools and continue to engage them to address the problem,” said Asst Insp Msebele.
“It is quite disturbing to note that some pupils are carrying dangerous weapons to schools.” – The Herald
