By Mohamed Vandi in Kenema
Hundreds of students of the Luke’s Commercial Secondary school in Kenema yesterday barricaded the road leading to Kpetema Section,brandished matches and pelted stones indiscriminately, demanding that their principal be replaced with immediate effect.
Some police officers came to put the situation under control but the attackers chased them while they tried to rescue the principal and two of his staff who were being hunted.
After forty minutes of sustained stoning and attacks the first batch of policemen arrived but they were overpowered and had to calle for reinforcement.
Police later confirmed to Politico that six pupils had been arrested and were being detained before questioning and subsequent investigation. Media officer, Sergeant Prince Kamara, said the situation was under control and there were no casualties but agreed that the situation was fast getting out of hands before they intervened.
Meanwhile, some students who could not tell their names said they would continue to cause mayhem until their principal, Malikie Kamara,quit.
They accused Mr. Kamara of taking a bad decision that militated against the school winning this year’s inter-secondary school football competition that ended over the weekend.
The principal and other senior staff were locked up in the administrative building for about an hour before police rescued them.
Head of games and sports committee in the school Alfred Bockarie said the school had already won a semi-final against Every Nations Academy secondary school and was to play a final with Islamic Secondary School after defeating Holy Trinity Secondary.
He said the two schools were later disqualified after both filed in petition letters, leaving Luke’s Commercial with no school to lock horns with in the grand finale.
He said his school was to seize that point but a decision was reached by the organizers of the games that they were to replay the match with Every Nations School whom they had defeated in the semi-final.
The head of games said the match was played and his school won, adding that a majority of the staff was not in favour of the decision to replay the match but the school administration supported it. He condemned the violent behaviour of the pupils.
The principal, Mr. Kamara, told Politico that he was in his office at around 8:30 am when he discovered that some students were on the rampage.
He could not tell at that moment what the cause of the incident was, but said some staff members who were within the school premises when the riot broke should be able to give information on that.
Helater told Politico that the reason given by the students for their violent action was not of his making, but the sole decision of the organizers of the games.
“They recommended that my school play the final with Every Nations Academy that came second in the tournament.So the administration of the school accepted,” he explained, adding that the chairman board of governors of the school had summoned an emergency meeting at the Eastern Polytechnic to address the issue.
Deputy director of education, Claudius Wilson, condemned the violence by the pupils and supported the decision of the games committee to conduct the match again.
He said Islamic Secondary School,which was to play against Luke’s Commercial in the final, was disqualified but because Every Nations Academy came second the games committee reached a decision that Luke’s and Every Nations should play the final.
He said investigations had been mounted from several quarters, including by the police and the ministry of education, to look into the misunderstanding that caused the violent reaction.
(C) Politico 03/12/13
