Pupils stone police, school in Blantyre

Classes at Mbayani Primary School in Malawi’s commercial city, Blantyre, were disrupted on Thursday after pupils rioted following a false alert that some of their colleagues were abducted at the school.

One of the parents, Lena Phiri, said the pupils started stoning the head teacher’s office following a rumour that their friends were abducted in a minibus.

“A minibus driver gave a lift to some Standard One and Two pupils after recognising one of the children. Some pupils, who saw this happening, ran to their homes where they told their parents that their friends had been abducted in a minibus.

“When news reached the parents who have children at the school, they flocked to the school, demanding to see their children and that is when chaos started. Some parents and the pupils started stoning the school,” claimed Phiri.

She said the police who came to calm the situation were also stoned, forcing them to fire tear gas.

Efforts to talk to the head teacher proved futile as teachers were locked in a meeting soon after the incident.

Southern Region Police spokesperson Nicholas Gondwa confirmed the incident, saying they  received reports of the chaos from Kabula Police Unit.