A school lunch queue turned into a scene of horror when a Form IV pupil wrestled a school cook and ended up pressing her face into a hot pot of rice.
The incident that left *Monica with serious burn wounds happened at a school located in the outskirts of Manzini.
The cook was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention where she was attended to and given over a week to recover.
For some pupils, who were waiting to be served lunch, this was a frightening ordeal, as they watched a confrontation between a fellow learner and the woman escalate violently.
According to pupils, who witnessed the incident, the learner arrived while other pupils were already standing in line, waiting for their turn to dish up.
“He waited for his turn, but it appeared as if there was an issue between him and the cook, which led to him standing nearby without being attended,” said one of the pupils.
Other witnesses said the learner and Monica were standing face-to-face when the situation allegedly took a violent turn. The cook had reportedly insisted that she would not give him food, which angered the pupil.
“Out of anger, he bent down to dish up himself, but aunty (the cook) still refused and they started fighting,” a pupil said.
They said Monica screamed for help as she struggled to free herself from the learner’s grasp. The incident reportedly drew the attention of other pupils, who rushed to alert teachers. Monica was reluctant to discuss the incident. She referred questions to the school.
The school’s acting headteacher confirmed the incident and said it had neither been reported to the police nor to the Manzini Regional Education Office (REO).
“We are still working on the matter with the disciplinary committee and we will take the appropriate action after compiling a report on the incident,” he said.
“We have gathered that this was a culmination of a long-standing misunderstanding between the two.
“Apparently, in the week preceding the attack, the cook had requested the implicated pupil to assist them offload food parcels that were delivered by a government truck and he refused,” he said.
He said as punishment for refusing to help, the cook refused to give the pupil his food ration on the day in question.
The headteacher said the pupil did not go to the kitchen on the next day, until the following Monday.
“When he went to dish up on the Monday, the teacher responsible for monitoring the kitchen was there and the cook gave the boy food. However, the following day, which was last week Tuesday, there was no teacher manning the area, so the cook refused to give the boy food again,” he said.
It was said that the pupil tried to dish up forcefully, something which sparked a physical fight and the cook’s face dipped in the hot pot. The headteacher said all along the school was not aware of the misunderstanding until after the incident happened. The headteacher said they had also learnt that the boy’s parent came to the school kitchen to complain that the pupil was not being given meals.
He said for now they were of the view that the cook should not have punished the pupil by denying him food and the pupil should not have resorted to violence.
“The teacher in charge is currently on sick leave. When he returns we will convene a meeting and engage all parties involved in the matter,” he said.
In the meantime the school has engaged someone to cook while the woman recovers fully.
