School 'bombing' tradition behind PMB school boy's death
Hershell Fynn Hershell Fynn
Durban - The violence at a Pietermaritzburg high school this week that left one pupil dead and four hospitalised with serious injuries was reportedly due to the school’s traditional celebrations on the last day of class.
The “bombing” game, in which Eastwood Secondary School pupils fill condoms with urine, faeces and eggs, and throw them at each other, took place on Monday, the last day of class.
During the game, Grade 11 pupil Camryn Sampson was stabbed in the abdomen with a knife. On Wednesday, she was reported to be making a good recovery in hospital.
On Tuesday, matric pupil Hershell Fynn apparently confronted the pupil who allegedly stabbed Sampson.
It is alleged that this pupil sent messages to former Eastwood Secondary pupils, telling them to come to school with weapons.
A group waited for Fynn outside the school, and attacked him and three other pupils with knives and bush knives. Fynn died at the scene.
The school was closed yesterday, with only matric pupils being allowed in to write exams.
Parents, teachers and some pupils later attended a meeting addressed by Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu.
The mood at the community hall was sombre, with parents and pupils still shocked by the incidents.
Angry parents called for corporal punishment to be reinstated at the school, saying they were tired of the bombing game, which they had failed to put a stop to for years.
Mshengu said he had learnt from the school that the game was what led to the tragic incidents.
He warned pupils that this “tradition” must be stopped, and said their behaviour was a reflection of the community they came from. “Parents and members of this community should also look at what is wrong with their community. A pupil from a good community and from a good home where good morals and behaviours are taught would know that such games are disgusting,” said Mshengu.
He urged the community to work with the police to bring to book those involved in Fynn’s murder.
Thirty-four pupils were arrested when bombing celebrations on the last day of class in 2017 turned violent.
The game got out of hand when pupils threw stones at each other. One pupil’s thumb was severed during the violence, and vehicles and school buildings were damaged in the chaos.
Ward 34 committee member Judy Maharaj said they had tried to address the problem since 2017, but the pupils continued with the tradition.
“Every year around this time, before the exams, we have this problem. Whenever we tried to address it, the pupils would laugh at us,” she said.
Fynn’s mother, Natalie Fynn, said her son had turned 18 in September. He was the only boy among six siblings.
“He looked forward to writing his exams next week. He was excited about finishing school and planned on studying law,” she said.
She said she still could not believe she would never see her son again.“I still think he’s going to enter through the door and greet me. I feel so sad because he promised me that he would work and provide for me. He wanted to change our family’s financial situation for the better and now he is gone.”
Brigadier Jay Naicker said a case of murder and attempted murder had been opened at Mountain Rise police station.
“Investigations are continuing and no arrests have been made,” he said.