Colleague shattered by murder of Sandown principal

A former colleague and friend of Pule Kgaratsi‚ a principal of Sandown High School who was shot and killed in southern Johannesburg in the early hours of Sunday‚ says that they did not lose a pen but an important man who will be remembered.

Thandi Ntsoele‚ the head of the English department at Fons Luminis Secondary School‚ Diepkloof‚ Soweto‚ says that she has not come to terms with his passing.

“We didn’t lose a pen‚ we lost an important man and my heart is broken. When I found out from my son that Pule had been shot‚ I was in denial. I thought I could take it‚ that I was strong. But when I went to school on Monday I became overwhelmed as I remembered everything‚ I was a mess. He was a father to the fatherless and a role model. My kids used to call him uncle Pule‚” said Ntsoele.

For Ntsoele‚ it will be hard to forget the zeal Kgaratsi had for life. “That man respected himself; you could see it in how he dressed and carried himself. It can’t be God’s will that something like this would happen‚ I don’t believe it‚” she said.

Ntsoele harked back to the times they worked together and attended the same school workshops.

“I will miss my friend‚ I will miss our arguments and how despite it all he always had my back. It’s sad that we only get to see the greatness of people after their passing. I am angry‚ I just wonder what was going on in the head of the person who did this‚ and do they even know who they killed? Or what they did?” she said.

Ntsoele had no doubt that the learners who knew him admired him.

“I knew him back when he was still at Itirele-Zenzele Secondary School in Diepsloot. Then in 2012 I was happy when he joined Fons Luminis as a deputy principal. He then became a principal at Sandown in 2015. Mind you‚ my friend was the first black principal at Sandown and was appointed on merit‚ he was good at what he did‚” said Ntsoele.

Gauteng MEC for education‚ Panyaza Lesufi‚ on Monday said he was saddened by the passing away of Kgaratsi.

“The department condemns this criminal act and extends sincere condolences to the family of Mr Kgaratsi‚ and the entire school community of Sandown High School‚” said Lesufi in a statement issued by Gauteng’s education spokesperson‚ Steve Mabona.