The deputy headmaster, who severely beat up his superior and two other teachers at Amazon Christian College Academy in Insiza, Matabeleland South, with a baseball bat, is on the run, police have confirmed.
The suspect, Vusa Ncube, fled the scene after severely assaulting the headmaster, Progress Ncube, who is now admitted to the intensive care unit of a local hospital in Bulawayo.
Two other teachers, Martha Ncube – who is also the headmaster’s wife – and Simbarashe Maseko are nursing fractures and head injuries.
Although Amazon Christian College Academy is a private school, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has assigned an inquiry team to determine the cause of the April 9 incident.
Acting Matabeleland South Provincial Police Spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Stanford Mguni, confirmed to CITE that the deputy headmaster is on the run.
“The suspect, Vusa Ncube, is facing assault charges, but these are likely to be upgraded to attempted murder since one of his victims, the headmaster, is in ICU. At the moment, I can’t give you the exact charge as investigations are ongoing,” said Mguni.
“The victim, Progress Ncube, is still in hospital, and we don’t know when he will pull through.”
The Asst. Inspector said the complainants are the headmaster and his wife, who also works at the academy.
“On April 9, 2024, around 9 am, the headmaster, Progress Ncube, asked another teacher to call the deputy head, Ncube. We think there were some documents that Ncube was supposed to sign, perhaps a written warning letter, but we don’t know exactly,” Mguni said.
Mguni said the police still do not know what was said in the headmaster’s office that enraged the deputy, as he went out and returned armed with a baseball bat.
“The deputy, Ncube, came back carrying a baseball bat, intending to beat up the headmaster. Another teacher, Simbarashe Maseko, led him outside, but Ncube overpowered him, and the headmaster followed to intervene. But Ncube overpowered them both and went back inside to the headmaster’s office and started beating the teacher, Maseko, and the headmaster,” said the Asst. Inspector.
“Ncube was beating them on their heads, elbows, hands, and the headmaster fell down, having collapsed.”
The Asst. Inspector said another teacher who was at the scene but was not beaten, Simangaliso Jamela, went with Maseko to look for transport to carry the injured headmaster to the hospital.
“They left the headmaster’s wife, Martha Ncube, in the office with Ncube, and when they left, Ncube also pounced on her. When Jamela and Maseko came back, they found him beating the woman. Martha Ncube was lying down, bleeding from the nose as Ncube was beating her,” Mguni said.
Jamela then ferried the injured to a hospital in Filabusi, but because the headmaster was in critical condition, he was transferred to Bulawayo.
“Now we don’t know what condition the headmaster is in. The headmaster’s wife also developed fractures, sustained head injuries with the other teacher, Maseko. Their injuries mean Ncube severely beat them up. He broke all their elbows and injured them on their heads, including the headmaster. Only the other teacher, Jamela, was not beaten up,” said the Asst. Inspector.
Director of Communications and Advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Taungana Ndoro, confirmed the ministry heard about the matter and was now conducting investigations.
“Yes, we have heard about it. We have sent an investigation team to try and establish the circumstances of the report. We were discussing it with the Matabeleland South Provincial Education Director (PED) last night (Thursday), so let me find out and get the investigation report,” he said in an interview with CITE.
