KZN principal killed while intervening in alleged domestic dispute at school

A KwaZulu-Natal principal has been fatally shot, allegedly when he tried to intervene in a dispute between a gunman and a teacher at his school on Thursday. 

According to police, Bongani Sibiya, 66, principal of Msunduzi Secondary School in Pietermaritzburg’s CBD, was allegedly shot repeatedly when he tried to reason with a gunman who entered the school premises looking for his wife.

“It is alleged that at 8.30am an employee was at her workplace, a school in Pietermaritzburg, when she was visited by a known man who was aggressive,” said police spokesperson Const Thenjiswa Ngcobo.

“An argument ensued between the two and the principal tried to calm the situation but was shot many times. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was confirmed dead at the scene.

“A case of murder was opened at Pietermaritzburg police station for investigation.”

KwaZulu-Natal education department spokesperson Sihle Mlotshwa said it was alleged the gunman was the husband of a teacher. The two had apparently argued. 

“Msunduzi Secondary is a private institution that is considered a finishing school. It is a major concern for the department that something like this can happen. This issue speaks to social ills within society, but what remains concerning for us it that it boiled over onto the premises of a school and resulted in a death,” he said.

Mlotshwa said the incident came after two separate issues in which a deputy principal’s car was torched by a pupil at a Pietermaritzburg school, while classrooms were torched by pupils at a school in Pinetown.

Both incidents involved confiscation of pupils’ cellphones.

“We are concerned about the moral fibre of society and the lack of discipline that stems from home. It is something that comes down to parents, who need to instil good values in their children.

“We are urging parents to randomly check their children’s bags to see what they are getting up to.”

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