BY RICHARD MUPONDE

STUDENTS at the Reformed Church of Zimbabwe (RCZ)-run Pamushana High School in Bikita East were reportedly involved in a beer binge and sex escapades at the school premises after the institution hired a band to belatedly celebrate Valentine’s Day.

The incident reportedly happened on Saturday night at a show organised by the school authorities, which turned into a “vuzu” party, with pupils smuggling beer, while others were involved in sex orgies.

Reports said security guards, who discovered empty beer bottles and used condoms strewn all over school premises, advised the school authorities about the issue.

The school authorities have since instituted investigations into the matter in an effort to bring the pupils involved to book.

Pamushana School Development Committee chairperson Charles Musimiki on Tuesday confirmed that students smuggled alcohol onto school premises.

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“Children are involved in mischief whenever they are growing and tend to experiment on things. Remember, we are dealing with children who have reached adolescence, they tend to experiment on a lot of things. Yes, some brought in alcohol to experiment, but there is no evidence of sex orgies at the school. The matter is being blown out of proportion to tarnish the good name of the school,” he said.

Musimiki said he had since advised the school authorities to investigate the issue.

“Remember, schools are there to grow these pupils academically, spiritually and in extracurricular activities. The musical function wasn’t even a Valentine’s Day celebration, but they have always been held at the school and there is nothing sinister about them. Honestly, if a child drinks beer, would he be treated as if he has killed a person? The issue of used condoms is out of question. I went to the school, but didn’t notice any. As the SDC chairperson, I have a child who is at the school and I wouldn’t be happy to see him drink beer. So the matter is being investigated so that we brief parents on the correct position,” he said.

The school head, Raymond Ndega, said he was in a meeting, but confirmed some misdemeanour by pupils at the show.

“The matter is being looked into so that we come up with the true picture. However, it’s a minor thing, but there is a parent who wants to tarnish our image. I will brief you about the facts later,” Ndega said.

A witness said on the day in question, there was a musical show, where a band which was hired by the school authorities performed for pupils as part of belated Valentine’s Day celebrations.

“The function was organised by the school authorities and went on until the midnight. However, the night turned out to be a night of beer binge and sex escapades by pupils,” the source said.

“Beer was readily available for the pupils. Many pupils got drunk to an extent that they spent the following day sleeping in their dormitories and failed to attend church service.”

A concerned parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of having his child victimised, said: “Yesterday (Sunday), used condoms were seen all over the school yard, indicating that the school was turned into brothel. The SDC chairman (Musimiki) visited the school and came face-to-face with the reality. He saw used condoms all over the school and empty beer bottles and cans. The headmaster of the school was not at the school on the day in question.”

Pamushana was last year caught in the eye of a storm when RCZ disowned a newly-elected SDC after allegations emerged that people were bussed in to vote for the officials.

The minister-in-charge at Pamushana, Reverend Innocent Munenerwa, had to write a letter to provincial schools inspector Zedias Chitiga dismissing the elections won by Musimiki, a former MDC MP, as a sham and unprocedural.

Musimiki is also the chairperson of another school, Duma Primary just a few kilometres from Pamushana.