Free State School Burns Down, Authorities Suspect Arsonist
- A school in the Free State went up in flames in an incident that the authorities suspect was an act of arson
- A handful of classes at the Refihletse Combined School in Verkeerdevlei were burned down
- South Africans were worried as the Education Department said the police are investigating the incident, as the department said a similar incident had happened a month prior
Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered a range of criminal activities, including cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts, and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.
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VERKEERDEVLEI, FREE STATE —The South African Police Service (SAPS) is investigating a possible case of arson after classes at the Refihletse Combined School burned down on 29 July 2025.
According to SABC News, five classes were burned down. Four of the classes were completely burned down, and a Grade R class was partially torched. The Free state Department of Education's spokesperson, Howard Ndaba, said the incident happened at 22:30.
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He said the department views this incident as arson. A similar incident happened last month as unknown assailants tried to burn a class at the same school. Ndaba added that the South African Police Service is investigating the incident. Ndaba said that the school was the only school in the area that accommodated more than 500 learners.
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Schools that were burned down
On 29 October 2022, a northern KwaZulu-Natal school was set alight after the matric students allegedly protested the postponement of the matric dance. The postponement reportedly incited the pupils to anger, and they torched it days before their final exams were set to begin.
On 28 April 2025, 11 classrooms were destroyed in a fire at the Riverlea High School in Randburg, Johannesburg. An entire male toilet block was also destroyed in the blaze, and at least 230 pupils were affected by the blaze.
What did South Africans say?
South Africans discussed why the school was torched.
Jonas Vis said:
"We already know they wanna make money through renovation. And that might cost taxpayers around R12 million."
Dee Moshe said:
"Somebody hiding something, bathong. Can July end bathong?"
John B Mollo asked:
"Why do people burn classrooms?"
University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville campus torched
In a related article, Briefly News reported that a protest at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Westville Campus turned violent when part of the school was torched. The university condemned the incident in the strongest terms.
The incident occurred when students tried to close the campus down as they protested after the bus services were cut. A lecture venue in the chemistry building was set alight. The building was immediately evacuated, and the university condemned it. Spokesperson Normah Zondo called on students not to destroy campus property.
South Africans were not impressed by the protesters' action.
"Whoever said burning institutions solves problems has indeed damaged people's minds, period," a netizen said.
"Complete fully-fledged full fools masquerading as students," another netizen said.
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Source: Briefly News
