Johannesburg – Police investigations have confirmed that the fire which broke out at Riverlea Secondary School last night was a deliberate act of arson, Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile announced on Thursday.
The blaze caused damage to several parts of the school, including the library, two storerooms, and a science laboratory. Despite the destruction, Maile confirmed that teaching and learning at the school have continued without any disruption.
Speaking outside the school earlier this morning, the MEC strongly condemned the incident, describing it as a criminal act of cowardice carried out by heartless individuals.
“We will be failing if we don’t condemn this criminal act. This is an act of cowardice. This is an act of heartless people and these are criminals. There’s no other way of explaining it,” Maile said.
He urged members of the community who may have witnessed anything related to the fire to cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies.
“We need to hand these criminals down and we need to bring them to book. It can be and it shouldn’t be easy to attack or burn a public institution as important as a school,” he added.
Maile expressed deep anger over the incident and called on the police to act decisively and quickly in apprehending those responsible.
“We are very, very, very angry and we would want the police to act decisively and quickly,” he emphasised.
The MEC noted that the arson highlights broader challenges facing the provincial education system, which he said still require urgent attention.
Authorities have not yet released details on possible suspects or motives behind the attack. Investigations by the police are ongoing.