Gangsterism at 2 Orange Farm schools in spotlight after recent attacks on pupils
On Monday, a grade 11 learner was stabbed at Thetha Secondary School and on Wednesday, about three kilometres away, another learner was stabbed at the neighbouring Vulanindlela Secondary School.
Thetha Secondary School pupils on are searched upon entry on 17 April 2025 after a pupil was stabbed on the school premises on 14 April 2025 in gang related violence at the Orange Farm school. Photo: Jacques Nelles/EWN
ORANGE FARM - Gangsterism at two Gauteng schools is being looked into following several violent incidents in which pupils have been attacked and stabbed.
The provincial department of education visited Thetha Secondary and Vulanindlela Secondary schools on Wednesday, situated in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg.
A grade 11 learner was stabbed at Vulanindlela Secondary on Wednesday, while an incident on Monday saw a group of learners attack another learner at Thetha Secondary.
Both incidents are gang-related.
It's a quiet and chilly morning in Orange Farm, just outside Johannesburg.
Learners are yet to start making their way to Thetha Secondary School.
This is one of two schools in the area that were closed following incidents of gangsterism.
On Monday, a grade 11 pupil was stabbed at this school and on Wednesday, about three kilometres away, another pupil was stabbed at the neighbouring Vulanindlela Secondary School.
The Department of Education claimed that both incidents were gang-related.
But this isn't alarming for an area like Orange Farm.
This area is prone to gangsterism, being the murder capital of the Gauteng province.
Between October and December last year, 69 people were killed in this area, the most in the entire province.
WORRIES ABOUT LEARNING & TEACHING
School children in Orange Farm said they were worried about gangsterism that's affecting learning and teaching.
A number of pupils from Thetha Secondary School in Orange Farm have confirmed that gangsterism had infiltrated their school.
Several known gangs in the area have recruited learners from this school, as well as the neighbouring Vulanindlela Secondary School.
The community says they are fed up and, to an extent, have begun taking the law into their own hands to deal with these gang leaders.
In recent weeks, there have been several people killed in what EWN understands to have been a retaliation by frustrated community members in dealing with this pressing issue of gangsterism.
Orange Farm is the murder capital of Gauteng, recording the most murders in the province in the latest crime stats.
For now, both schools have reopened, with JMPD and private security present.