‘If you stay on as principal, we will kill you’
Murder of predecessor who failed to heed similar warning linked to ‘jobs for cash’ scandal
ON February 1 the new principal of a KwaZulu-Natal school reported for work. Just five days later someone threatened to hack him to death.
“If you continue to be in that school, what happened to the former principal will also happen to you,” a text message to Bongani Sibisi read.
The anonymous sender was referring to the murder 18 months ago of Nokuthula Magwanyana, Sibisi’s predecessor at Villa Maria Primary School in Mkhambathini near Pietermaritzburg. Magwanyana was hacked to death with a panga and left to die in her car after an apparent ambush in August 2015. Two weeks earlier, the school had been broken into and “Resign or uzokufa [you will die]” was spraypainted on the wall.
Her killing followed a lengthy dispute about her post and was linked to a “jobs for cash ” scandal plaguing teacher unions and the education department.
Three men were arrested but charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. Magwanyana’s killers remain at large.
Fearing he will meet the same fate, Sibisi has not returned to the school. Arrangements to ensure his safety are being made, the KwaZulu-Natal education department said this week.
Sibisi declined to comment when approached by the Sunday Times.
Provincial education department spokesman Muzi Mahlambi said: “He has reported the matter to the police, who will help determine whether it’s from inside the school, the community, or outside. The questions we are asking are, ‘Were the killers not satisfied with the murder of the previous principal? Does this school not deserve to have a principal?’ We are taking this matter seriously.”
Police spokesman LieutenantColonel Thulani Zwane said a case of intimidation had been opened at Bishopstowe police station.
“We can confirm an incident that occurred on February 5 where a 43year-old male allegedly received a text threatening his life while he was at his home in Cato Ridge.
“We cannot divulge more information on the case since it still under investigation,” he said.
National African Teachers Union deputy president Allen Thompson said: “The unfortunate thing [about the death threat against Sibisi] is that we are still waiting for a report on the investigation into the issue of a list of principals who have been threatened and don’t want to go school because they fear for their lives.”
The threat against Sibisi appears to be linked to the “jobs for cash” scandal. A report released by the Department of Basic Education last year found there were “widespread practices of improper and unfair influencing affecting . . . the appointment of educators”. The exchange of cash was not uncommon.
Were the killers not satisfied with the murder of the previous principal?
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