The first day of the school year at Hoërskool Overvaal was always going to be a heated one, but it really is sad to see these scenes playing out in Vereeniging.
In case you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, the story starts back in December with a court ruling that saw the school ordered to take 55 English speaking pupils from the start of the new school year.
As the name implies, Hoërskool Overvaal is an Afrikaans school, and that order was later challenged in court. Last week saw a Pretoria High Court overrule that decision, with this from Times LIVE:
The court found that on the overwhelming weight of the evidence‚ the Afrikaans-medium school had no capacity to receive the English learners‚ let alone to do so at such short notice and to convert to a double-medium school.
Following the ruling, some parents threatened to burn the school down in protest, and the EFF decided it was the perfect way to build on the PR blitz that was the H&M monkey saga.
In response Afriforum decided to head to the school for the opening day of the year, and it all kicked off pretty early in the morning.
Via Iavan Pijoos‘s tweet:
Watch: EFF supporters beat up a parent at #HoërskoolOvervaal. #backtoschool @News24 pic.twitter.com/9lL7qlH3WB
— Iavan Pijoos (@iavanpijoos) January 17, 2018
Another angle via EWN:
#HoërskoolOvervaal A parent who was slamming one of the passing vehicles has been kicked and beaten by an EFF supporter. HM pic.twitter.com/iGx7gabvvd
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) January 17, 2018
It is reported that the parent had pulled a zap sign and made offensive gestures towards the EFF.
News24 have put this video together:
They also spoke with Afriforum’s head of community safety, Ian Cameron:
And, of course, it eventually led to stun grenades:
[ON AIR] The moment a stun grenade is fired outside #HoerskoolOvervaal as scuffles and arguments break out between EFF protesters and parents. Courtesy #DStv403 pic.twitter.com/TRBXGPAR7F
— eNCA (@eNCA) January 17, 2018
There is no doubt that tensions will continue throughout the day, so if you want to keep an eye on this one then follow News24’s live feed here.
