By: Natasha Archary
Classes at Effingham Secondary School in KwaZulu-Natal have been suspended after chaos erupted at the school on Thursday, 19 May.
A shocking video of a rifle pointed at a student, with another female learner being dragged by an ADT security officer has gone viral.
A white police officer can be seen pointing a rifle at a black male student who does not appear to be armed.
The student tries to help the female learner who is on the ground when he is confronted by the officer who points the weapon directly at him.
It is unclear at this stage what transpired at the school but it is believed that learners were protesting against racism.
Classes have been suspended on Friday, 20 May, and the school has called an urgent meeting with parents on Saturday, 21 May to address the disruptive behaviour by students.
Disclaimer: The videos below contain violent scenes which may not be for sensitive viewers
Effingham Secondary #school Durban, Guns pointed at learners, female learner dragged by security personnel #GrabTheMoment pic.twitter.com/3sVHoqpPRW
— Vutomi Basil (@Vutomi_Basil) May 20, 2022
Another female learner was slapped across her face by a SAPS officer. The learner described the alleged assault, sharing that she was manhandled and beaten by a SAPS member.
She also claims that she had a gun pointed at her and that she was almost arrested for something she didn’t do.
“I never thought one day I’d be dragged and assaulted by an official police member as my colour. Manhandled and beaten up by him. History is repeating itself.”
There has since been public outcry on social media over the image of the white officer with a rifle pointed at a student.
Many have shared that the image triggers scenes from the apartheid era where unarmed students were gunned down.
It has been reported the weapons used contained rubber bullets which were used on the students to disperse them.
Effingham Secondary School 💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/Vzh2ubZD48
— Fumba Anele (@fumbanele) May 20, 2022
Effingham High School learners were mistreated violently & shot with rubber bullets when learners peacefully striked after a racism issue they had with the principle of the school💔💔. @eNCA @SABCNews @gagasifm @ukhozi_fm @izwi98fm #racism #RacismMustFall #effinghamstrike pic.twitter.com/HSzsE5WaBx
— Thandanani (@tp_ledger) May 19, 2022
Also read: Manenberg school pupils hide during gang shootout



