‘The children are not feeling safe,” Buje Junior Secondary School principal Vikiswa Mjakuja said as a few pupils trickled in for classes.

Faction fighting has been rife in the area. In the latest incident, 49 homesteads were set alight on Sunday night.

Some kids came to school without uniforms, wearing the T-shirts and shorts they had on when they had to flee their burning homes.

The children cried as they described dodging bullets, having to sleep in the bush and coming to school on the first day of the year with empty stomachs as their families had lost everything.

Mjakuja appealed for social workers to help the traumatised children. 

Nofikile Ntlatywa (53) has three grandchildren at Buje Junior Secondary. They lost their uniforms, even their school shoes, in the fire. 

“Those people who torched our houses were very angry… they destroyed everything. They left us with nothing. We only had the clothes we were wearing. I don’t know if I can still look after these children who are attending school,” Ntlatywa said.

Emotional Buje Junior Secondary School pupils whose uniforms were destroyed during an arson attack on their homestead in Buje Village. From left: Mandiphiwe Ntlatywa, Inathi Ntlatywa and Ayakha Ntlatywa. (Photo: Hoseya Jubase).

Zukisani Sindzwanga said they were woken by the sound of gunshots. They got up and ran into the bush to hide.

“First we heard the gunshots. Then the screams. Then the flames came. They burned everything… our uniforms, all our other clothes – we are left with nothing. They even destroyed the food we had in the house,” Sindzwanga said. 

Sindzwanga’s brother, Sibongiseni, said the sweatpants he was wearing were borrowed.

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“We haven’t eaten since Sunday… those people destroyed everything in our homes. When I came to school today, I only drank amahewu (a fermented drink made from maize meal). I am hungry… I don’t even know what we will eat when we get home after school,” he said.

Principal Mjakuja said the ongoing conflict had affected pupils in a number of ways:

“I think they are scared… some do not have uniforms or even clothes. Some are still traumatised… when you speak with them they seem lost, they are not concentrating on what you are saying, their mind is not here.

“What we want is security, but first social workers and psychologists need to intervene. We don’t want the kids to feel isolated at school,” he added.

‘Rampage’ 

The incident is under investigation and has been linked to stock theft in the area. A police report says the suspects “went on a rampage at 4am” on Monday. Police spokesperson Tembinkosi Kinana confirmed that scores of villagers had been left destitute.

“According to the reports, during the attack houses were set alight while others were severely damaged. No injuries or fatalities were reported, as people allegedly escaped unharmed. 

Buje Junior Secondary School where pupils desperately need help in the form of uniforms and psychological support after their homestead was torched on 18 January 2023. (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)

Some of the Buje Junior Secondary School pupils who had to attend class without uniforms or even shoes, going into their classrooms. From left: Brothers Zukisani and Sibongiseni Sindzwanga. (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)

“However, in a nearby village of Tyeni… a man aged 49 was shot and killed. It is unclear at this stage if this particular incident is related to the arson attacks,” he said.

Read in Daily Maverick: “Thousands left homeless as blaze ravages Cape Town informal settlements”

“The motive for these attacks is unknown, but stock theft and ongoing faction fights cannot be ruled out. Cases of arson, murder and malicious damage to property have been registered for investigation. No arrests have been made at this stage.”

Buje Junior Secondary School pupils  make their way home. In the distance are some of their homesteads that were torched. (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)

Provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nomthetheleli Mene, ordered that a high-level task team be formed to track down and arrest the culprits. 

Violent incidents have been reported in the area since September 2021. By September 2022 more than 100 homesteads had been burnt down and 15 people killed. DM/MC