A STUDENT unrest has rocked the United Church of Christ (UCCZ)-run Mt Selinda High School in Chipinge where militant pupils took to the streets protesting against church officials for illegally confiscating a vehicle from their headmaster.

The irate pupils want their headmaster, Mr Watson Bundwa, to be handed back a Toyota D4D twin cab truck, which was taken by the church early this year

Business in Chipinge’s Central Business District came to halt as close to hundred pupils thronged at UCCZ eastern conference offices threatening to destroy church property.

Riot police had to be called in to stop the marauding students, some of whom were armed with logs, from unleashing terror.

When The Manica Post visited the UCCZ premises, heavily armed riot police officers were struggling to disperse the students.

The restive pupils said they walked for over 32km from Mt Selinda to Chipinge town to register their complaints with the district education office and the church’s administration as no one was attending to their petition.

According to the petition, which this paper has in possession, the students demanded the immediate release of the school vehicle.

They alleged that the vehicle is being used by a church superintendent yet they paid a levy for its purchase to be used at the school.

They vowed not to return empty handed.

“Where is our vehicle? We will only return to school with our vehicle. As students we are saddened by the way the responsible authority is treating our headmaster.

“They illegally took away the vehicle from the headmaster saying he will not drive a top of the range vehicle.

“This is unfair to our parents because they paid a lot of money to buy this vehicle.

“School fees rose to $480 per term when the project to buy the school vehicle was introduced but surprisingly the church took the vehicle away,” shouted one of the students.

Repeated efforts to get a comment from UCCZ church president, Reverend Ephraim Ngadziore and his deputy, Reverend Godknows Dhundu, were fruitless at the time of going to print.

They switched off their mobile phones.

Last year, the school made headlines over ugly clashes between the church’s highest decision body, the synod, and the headmaster Mr Bundwa over the failure by the head to remit 10percent of the revenue collected at the school to the church. by Luthando Mapepa
Source: manicapost