Devastation at Sibongumbomvu School – An attack on the future of our children 

Issued by Edwin Macrae Bath MP and Sakhile Mngadi MPL –
14 May 2025 in Press Statements

Note to editors: Find Soundbite by Sakhile Mngadi, MPL in English (here) and isiZulu (here)

  • The theft of laptops from a rural school’s newly donated Cyberlab should be a priority.
  • The DA in KZN has written to the Provincial Police Commissioner Mkhwanazi asking for swift action to find culprits.
  • ⁠The DA in KZN calls for the community of Merrivale to come together and expose those responsible for the distraction and theft of donated school property.

The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal is outraged and appalled by the callous break-in at Sibongumbomvu Combined School in Ward 6 of the uMngeni Municipality. In the early hours of 13 May 2025, just weeks after a brand-new cyberlab was handed over to the school by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, criminals looted the entire facility—stealing 20 donated laptops, the school’s own IT equipment, and causing extensive damage to infrastructure.

This cyberlab was not just a room filled with machines—it was a bridge between rural learners and the digital future. It was built to offer coding, robotics, and digital literacy skills to a generation that urgently needs access to 21st-century tools. That dream has now been torn apart.

This was not random. Initial evidence suggests the crime was carried out by individuals with inside knowledge of the school’s layout and security measures. It was targeted and calculated—a strategic hit against progress in one of our province’s most under-resourced communities.

At the time of this statement, SAPS had still not arrived at the scene. This delay is disgraceful, and it sends a chilling message that rural communities can be violated without response. We demand better. The DA has written to the KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner (see attached letter) demanding the immediate deployment of a dedicated task team to investigate the incident, with a clear timeline for arrests and public updates on progress.

We also demand accountability from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education. The DA has submitted urgent parliamentary questions to MEC Sipho Hlomuka on the matter. (See here)

This is more than just a stolen resource. It is a stolen future. The DA calls on the community to speak up—do not protect those who steal from your children. Report them. Help ensure they face justice. If these criminals are allowed to walk free, the message is clear: rural learners don’t matter.

This tragedy reinforces the urgent need for a whole-of-society approach that the DA continues to advocate for—where government, communities, civil society, and law enforcement work together to protect and uplift our schools. Ensuring the safety and success of learners cannot rest on the shoulders of the state alone. It requires shared responsibility, active citizen involvement, and strong partnerships to create schools that are centres of hope, not targets of crime.

We will not allow that to happen. We will fight for justice, for answers, and for a full restoration of what was taken from the learners of Sibongumbomvu.

If any members of the public have any information they are requested to come forward by contacting Contact W/O Sindane the Detective Branch Commander 033 8456526.