LAND invasion chaos in Mariannridge, west of Durban has forced Mariannridge Secondary School to close its gates.
The teachers allegedly told the security guard on Monday morning to turn pupils away. They said they feared that the kids might be caught in the middle of rubber bullets and stones between eThekwini Municipality’s land invasion unit and land grabbers.
A matric pupil (18) said: “We were confused when we found the school gates locked on Monday. The guard said he was told not to let us in as there won’t be any lessons taking place.”
Another matric pupil (17) said: “The guard said the teachers told them they feared for their safety and ours.
“They said the teachers were worried we might be caught in the middle of a fight between the municipality’s land invasion unit and land grabbers.”
Debbie Marilier (51) said: “We decided to grab this land because we are tired of living in overcrowded flats. We were promised RDP houses 15 years ago but nothing happened.”
Kwazi Mthethwa, a spokesman for the KZN Education Department, said: “We’re aware of the matter. We won’t reveal how we are going to intensify security measures near the school but we assure pupils the exams will be safe.”
Councillor Reginald Cloete said: “We are aware of the overcrowding and we are working hard to resolve the issue before March.
“Our residents should know that land invasion is illegal and action will be taken against them.”
