The ManicaPost
Lovemore Kadzura Rusape Correspondent
PANDEMONIUM rocked St Joseph’s High School (Rusape) as schizophrenic female students stormed out of classes shouting names of some teachers accused as architects of satanic acts bedevilling the school. Some of the students collapsed and fainted while making incoherent utterances.
The incident started last Friday during the morning assembly address and has put parents with children at the Roman Catholic-run school in a panic mode. It is being alleged that the girls were initiated into underworld occult practice by three teachers (names withheld) at the school. However, some conservatives attributed schizophrenic state of the girls to the scotching heat wave that swept across Rusape, though they could not explain the mystery of the extreme weather phenomenon only tormenting Form 2 girls.
The girls allegedly accused one of the teachers of possessing a huge snake. The situation reached fever pitch on Monday when more female students started hallucinating and became uncontrollable while in class. As they turned the usually tranquil school into pandemonium and chaos, teachers and other students tried to calm and offer them first aid to no avail.
When The Manica Post visited the school on Tuesday, there was relative calm, but concerned parents were still visiting the school to get first hand information from the school head Mr Richard Chiome. Some parents blamed the school administration of trying to conceal the strange happenings to protect the image and integrity of the school at the expense of the victims’ precious lives.
A parent, whose child was affected, but refused to be named, said doctors have failed to explain the ailment of their daughter, who has since been withdrawn from the school.
“My daughter is at home recuperating. We took her to hospital and they said failed to diagnose the disease. We are now seeking spiritual help from the church. This is Satanism, nothing else can cause school children to behave in such a manner. This school needs to be cleansed of the evil spirits tormenting our children. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education must come to our aid and stop the school authorities from suppressing this issue. The mystery must be unravelled to allow return to normalcy,” said the parent.
Mr Chiome refused to talk to The Manica Post citing alleged restrictive protocol and referred questions to the Makoni district schools inspector Mr Nathaniel Machini. However, further inquiries from senior administration officials at the school yielded some insight into the unfolding drama. A senior official who spoke on condition of confidentiality said the incident has left them speechless.
The official said they were baffled by the hysterical wave of manifestation, fainting and hallucinations by the female students. The teacher revealed that since the inception of the bizarre incident, all affected children were sent back to their parents for treatment.
“It started on Friday afternoon when it was discovered that one student had collapsed at the assembly point. At first we thought it was a result of the then prevalent excessive heat. Around mid-morning two more female students collapsed. Later in the afternoon two more collapsed, making them five. They were sent to their parents and were referred to hospital. At the school we could only offer them first aid and pain killers,” said the official.
“During the weekend we did not receive any adverse reports on the conditions of those affected girls. We started well on Monday as nothing suspicious happened. However, all hell broke loose around 9am when a female student passed through a certain lady teacher and started shouting “ibva ipapo pamberi pane zvandiri kuona”.
“She sprinted around shouting and screaming. Other female students joined in and there was pandemonium at the school. The most baffling thing is that the frenzy is affecting Form 2 girls only. So far there is no spiritual, traditional or scientific explanation to it,” said the teacher.
A student who spoke to The Manica Post said one girl stood up in class and shouted at a male teacher. She accused the teacher of possessing a huge snake. The girl allegedly started manifesting and hallucinating. Other students said they were no longer comfortable to attend classes as they were scared of witnessing the strange happenings.
