Goblin terror at church boarding school

SUSPECTED goblins have struck at Minda High School in Maphisa, Kezi with teachers and pupils living in fear of midnight attacks from invisible creatures.

Minda pupils who spoke to B-Metro said they had been experiencing attacks for a fortnight during the school's holiday tutoring programme for Ordinary Level and Advanced Level candidates.

"It was very scary. The things would come and take away our blankets and dump them at the door. They would throw stones at the windows and some of them hit our dorm mates," said a sixth former.

A Form Four pupil said the school decided to shift them from the "haunted" dormitory; however, the strange happenings continued the same night they moved into the new hostel.

"We were mixed with other schools in the district, when the things continued harassing us, the head and matron decided that we be moved to a different hostel but the things continued. I am in Form Four so I cannot transfer but

I'm really dreading being in this school now," she said.

Other pupils said they woke up to pray trying to chase away the evil spirits at the Catholic school.

The school matron, a Mrs Moyo said she was off duty when the strange happenings occurred.

"I was off duty when all that happened. Another matron was at the school. She is perhaps the best person you can contact as I only started work today (Sunday)," said Mrs Moyo.

A teacher on duty, a Mrs Lunga, declined to comment and referred all questions to the headmaster, Mr Nyamambi, who was away when B-Metro went to the school.

In a telephone interview, the school head, Mr Nyamambi,  said the matter was sensitive and could not be discussed over the phone.

"You came to the school on a weekend and did not find me. That matter is too sensitive and as such cannot be discussed over the phone. Come back to the school and we talk about what happened face to face because it is my fear that you may have gotten a twisted version of what actually transpired," he said.

A member of staff at the school said he and fellow workmates had to brave the cold of the night to guard the dormitories where some girls were sleeping when the attacks got worse.

"We had to sleep at the door of one of the dormitories while some colleagues patrolled around the dormitories. It was strange because things were hurling stones at us but we could not see where they were coming from. We held an urgent meeting first thing in the morning and it was agreed that there was going to be a parents' meeting to try and figure out a way forward," he said.

Efforts to get a comment from the provincial education director Mr Masukume were fruitless as his phone was unreachable at the time of going to press.