Pupils vandalise house in Durban, looking for men who robbed them

Muhamed Moola opened the gate to a family member's home in Merebank, Durban, in anticipation of a courier company delivering a package, but was instead confronted by two men seeking sanctuary - and, minutes later, by a group of angry pupils.

"My brother looked at them, shocked and wondering what was going on, because they were in a rush to get into the house," Muhamed’s sister, Naadira, told TimesLIVE on Wednesday. The incident occurred last Friday afternoon.

The men told Muhamed a group was chasing them and wanted to kill them.

"They didn’t say what happened between them and those boys."

A group of pupils arrived outside the house shortly afterwards, saying someone saw the men run into the yard.

"My brother said to them there is no one here because, obviously, if somebody tells you that somebody is trying to kill them, you’re not going to hand them over."

He led the boys around the yard to show them no one was hiding but shortly afterwards a larger group of about 10-15 pupils returned.

Muhamed asked them to wait outside so that he could speak to the two men inside.

"While my brother was inside the house, they started rushing into the yard with their weapons."

In a video which has since gone viral on social media, the schoolboys are seen beating and kicking the gate, taking swipes at the Ridgeback dog with a weapon and throwing items at the house.

Naadira said the pupils broke three windows and dented the gate.

Muhamed pressed the panic button. When the ADT security service arrived, they called the police.

Shukeli Moola wrote on Facebook that the learners from Ganges Secondary School had  allegedly been gambling on the school grounds when three men had robbed them.

When police officers asked the boys what had happened, they said Muhamed was not involved.

Police are investigating the incident.

KZN education department spokesman Kwazi Mthethwa said vandalism that occurred outside the school perimeter had nothing to do with the department but was rather a community safety issue. 

He said he had not received any report about the incident.