If a principal is shot, who’s safe at schools, widow asks

The widow of a Ngcobo principal who was shot while preparing for a school safety programme has questioned how schools can be considered safe after a string of killings on educational premises across the Eastern Cape. Mncedisi Ntentema, 58, principal of Khanyolwethu Senior Secondary School in Colosi village, died on Thursday from his wounds after he was shot in his office on May 19 while preparing for a crime awareness and school safety programme. Police and senior education officials were due to arrive at the school less than an hour later for the event.

According to police, an unknown man entered Ntentema’s office, asked him to confirm that he was the principal, and then shot him in the upper body before calmly walking out of the school. Teachers and pupils rushed to assist the wounded principal before he was taken to a private hospital in Mthatha, where he died nine days later. His widow, Zukiswa, questioned how schools could be considered safe when educators continued to be targeted.

“Schools are supposed to be gun-free zones, but it shocks me that my husband and others have died from bullets, shot right inside schools in the presence of teachers and learners, leaving everyone traumatised and fearing for their lives,” she said. “If a principal dies while preparing for a school safety programme, who’s safe?” Zukiswa said the family wanted justice and answers. “All we want is to ensure that teachers, learners and all those who work in schools are protected and their safety is guaranteed,” she said. “I know that nothing will bring my husband back, but those who brutally killed him must not get away with it.