A Buffalo City metro educator was fatally shot at his residence in Braelyn in East London, Eastern Cape, over the weekend.
According to reports, the Greenpoint High School physical science teacher was killed early on Saturday morning. The distraught family later alerted the department about the attack.
The murder occurred as the province wrapped up preparations for the mid-year examination. According to the police, 53-year-old Hadley Le Bron was killed in an attempted break-in.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the deceased was sleeping while another person was watching TV when a vehicle stopped outside their house.
“Someone pulled open the lounge window, and the witness saw the arm of a suspect moving the curtain,” said Naidu.
“It is alleged that he ran to get a spade when Le Bron woke up from the commotion and went to investigate. He was shot in the upper body before dying on the scene.”
Department robbed of nurturer
The Eastern Cape MEC for education, Fundile Gade, said the department has been robbed of a nurturer.
“We have been robbed of a community builder and a nurturer by these criminals who committed this horrendous crime,” said Gade.
“As a seasoned physics educator of 30 years, the late educator also featured prominently in all the district matric intervention classes.
“This therefore means that many young kids who benefited from his teaching skills have been robbed of a chance to perform better in physics.”
He stated that the murdered educator is regarded as one of the most dedicated and respected at the school.
Gade expressed his sorrow and requested that family and community members cooperate with law-enforcement agencies as they investigate.
“As a society, we need to be vigilant and support the work of the police in solving this crime.
“We call upon all law-enforcement agencies to work around the clock and find these criminals to face justice for their odious crimes.”
Psychosocial team to offer counselling
He went on to state that a psychosocial team from the Buffalo City education district would assist the school and the deceased’s family in dealing with the trauma.
“This is to ensure that all affected get debriefing and counselling for this trauma. Subsequently, the team will visit the family to pay respects and homage to the educator.”
No one has been arrested, and the police are investigating.
Commenting about the mid-year examination, Gade said the department is thoroughly prepared.
As part of preparations for these examinations, the department activated its Learner Attainment Improvement Strategy (LAIS) programme early in March.
“All the revision lessons and sessions were made possible by the LAIS budget that was distributed to districts and schools for this purpose.”
