'Two wrongs don't make a right'

Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Hundreds of learners attended the memorial service for Michaela Booysen (17) and Khuselo Ndanda (17) at the Hillcrest Secondary School hall on Thursday, 10 October.

There was a sombre atmosphere and friends of Michaela and Khuselo struggled to hold back their tears.

Michaela's grandmother was asked to do the symbolic "removal of her name" by extinguishing a candle and was simply too emotional to do so. She actually fell down on the floor, crying, and couldn't proceed, so family members had to help her back to her chair.

Fellow learners were devastated and shocked. Both families were called to the front of the school hall to talk to the learners and both families said that they held no grudges. Khuselo's uncle, Khumbulelo Mkhondo, gave a strong message to the school when he said it "took good to do good" and he told learners "two wrongs would never make a right". He said the learners were there to live peaceably together. He said it all started at school.

Reverend Russell Claassen said during his message, that communities were tired of panicking and that communities did not want to fear anymore.

School principal, Ivan Kronenberg, told learners there was a collapse of value systems and he said he would fight everything that was against the rules of the school so that all could focus on the mantra of the learner, "to enter school to learn".

He said: "We have lost two learners and it is two learners too many."

The prayer meeting for Michaela Booysen, which was to be held at St Blaize Catholic Church on Thursday, 17 October, has been moved to Wednesday, 16 October at 19:00.

Father Howard Buys during the memorial service.